Silent Conspiracy
by Yunno
Summary: Does one betrayal always lead to another? But what do you do when your enemy has the cunning to plot it, the knowledge to implement it, and the determination to see it through to the bitter end . . . and what do you do if that enemy is your friend?
1. Chapter 1

Loonatics Unleashed:

"Silent Conspiracy"

(This story is post Season Two – after the cartoon series.)

Rated T for Intrigue.

Disclaimer: Loonatics Unleashed, Duck Dodgers in the 24th and ½ Century, Looney Tunes, and all related Characters and Elements are trademarks of Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Other references, lyrics and quotes belong to their individual artists, authors, copyrights, or trademarks.

Does one betrayal always lead to another? But what do you do when your enemy has the cunning to plot it, the knowledge to implement it, and the determination to see it through to the bitter end . . . and what do you do if that enemy is your friend? Actually, the genre should be Intrigue, but there wasn't the option.

"Okay, let's put a little theory into practice!" And with that, Tech unclipped his green triangular chest shield. Using his magnetic ability, the coyote genius slid the micro thin layers of metal in the shield to expand it out to surfboard size. Hopping onto the board and magnetizing the soles of his boots to it so he wouldn't slip off, the canid anthromorph enveloped himself in a magnetic field and shot off down the inner ramp-ways of the planet Blanc that was the new home and base of operations for the Loonatics.

It had taken an obscene amount of time to perfect the process of micro-engineering the individual atomic planes using a micro-mechanical cleavage technique to modify the atomic lattice of the metal of the shield. While the actual process was complicated, it didn't take long . . . now that he'd created a special kiln and apparatus for it. Plus, the end result was amazingly simple. Instead of the shield being a solid piece of synthetic material interlaced with metal alloy, it now consisted of ultra thin layers that he could shift and lock into place. "Keep up . . . if you can!"

Rev stared open mouthed after his best friend. He heard the coyote chuckling over the wrist communicator that they kept tuned to each other as Tech prematurely started the race to gain the lead over the roadrunner. The two really weren't feuding anymore. Oh, sure, they bantered back and forth, but they no longer tried to one-up themselves by dissing the other. In fact, their friendship had deepened into a brother-like relationship. Still, Rev was worried. At the speed Tech was going, you didn't steer, you took aim. Tech called today's activity 'an experiment in bold new scientific research.' He called it just plain reckless. Then Rev laughed at himself. He was taking this whole 'big brother' thing too far if HE was being the voice of reason. Throwing caution to the wind, Rev's eyes glowed red as he fired up his super speed and jetted after his friend. "Oh-you-are-so-on! Let's-drag!"

A thin trail of fire followed the speedster as he skimmed down the purple and white checkered pedestrian walkway in the magnetic wake of the canid scientist. They were racing 'underground' if there was such a place on the hollow planet of Blanc. From space, Blanc resembled a large, grey-black Wiffel ball with half a dozen very large holes in its shell. It had two moons, one was large and purplish in color while the other was small and rusty red. Due to the impressive wormhole apparatus suspended in the center of the planet sphere, the moons orbited only around an equator of solid shell, avoiding all of the planetary holes. Suspended in the center of Blanc where a normal planet's core would be, Wormhole Central was a beautiful and massive azure spherical structure surrounded by faintly glowing concentric 'Merry Melody' rings. Depending on the currant operational status of the station, the rings glowed either a pale pink or gold. The holes in the planet crust allowed the connecting wormholes to pass safely through the nexus. Being in the center of the universe, Wormhole Central allowed connections to any known black hole for near instantaneous travel from one part of the cosmos to the other. Whoever controlled Blanc, controlled access to the universe. After two recently failed attempts of hostile takeover, Zadavia decided to make the Loonatics into Guardians of the Universe, and Ace moved their base of operations to Tweetums' planet. Not only could they keep the crossroads safe, they could immediately transport to any intergalactic trouble spot where they might be needed.

The populous of Blanc lived in and on the inner curve of the shell, covering it with a myriad of domed cities, parks, and even some wilderness areas. Most of the domes sported vast gardens complete with statues, exotic imported plants in their own environment pots, and birdbaths for the populous to enjoy as well as forested sections that complimented the cities. The cities proper were collections of minor domes atop trunk-like and branching bases; the whole affairs looking remarkably like alien trees themselves. A forcefield covered the outer surface of the planet, protecting it from meteors and other interstellar debris that sometimes accompanied the wormholes whose nexuses pivoted here. The perforated planet crust itself was hollow as well, supported by countless decorated, flaring columns and interlaced with suspended, color-coded checkered ramps. It was here, inside the crust of the planet where the complex network of roadways, both vehicular as well as pedestrian, resided. The planetary shell also contained the planet's emergency shelters, secret Royal chambers, prison, as well as the massive gravity generators that kept the outside-in planet properly weighted.

Rev swerved onto a side motorway in an attempt to overtake the green and black clad coyote even as Tech had to veer off the curved, teal and white plaid path that he followed because of damage from the recent invasion. As ruler of the planet Blanc, the Royal Tweetums, a small, yellow bird anthromorph who closely resembled his distant ancestor Tweety Bird, was expending every effort to restore his beloved planet. There were, however, still areas that the repair crews hadn't yet reached. The duo were little more than streaking smears of red and green as they each tried to pull ahead of the other.

Officially, the two Loonatics were becoming familiar with their new home. Rev was helping Tech expand his use of his magnetic ability. And Tech was helping Rev calibrate his own internal GPS to this new place. After all it wouldn't do for the galactic heroes to get lost in their own home.

Unofficially, they were just goofing off.

"Hey-Tech," Rev called as he came up on a parallel ramp near where Tech was road surfing. The two raced back and forth, sometimes one ahead and sometimes the other. Both took slightly different routes but crisscrossed each others' paths often. "Should-you-be-going-this-fast? The-tunneling-effect-of-high-velocity-on-your-sight-must-be-rendering-you-virtually-blind-and,-genius-that-you-are,-you-forgot-to-bring-your-global-positioning-goggles. Aren't-you-afraid-you're-going-to-crash?"

"Actually not," Tech replied smugly. The canid anthromorph answered his companion's concerns as he continued slaloming through the planet's crust. He pinballed a bit, ricocheting as he zoomed through the byways and halls of inner Blanc. "You see, genius that I am, I have encased both my 'surfboard' and myself with my magnetic ability, kind of like a miniature version of the earth's magnetic field. Since Blanc's infrastructure is largely comprised of ferrous alloys, I am not only able to utilize the negative and positive aspects of magnetism as impetus for near frictionless movement, I am also able to tap into the magnetic lines. By noting their distortions caused by the juxtaposition of matter, I am able to fine tune and use them as an extended 'magnetic radar' of sorts to navigate. So while I don't have your internal GPS to guide me, this will do. "

"Oh,-well-in-that-case, . . ." Since Tech could use his magnetism to steer, Rev didn't need to worry. Coming up fast from behind, Rev smirked mischievously and gave Tech a tremendous push, kicking up his own speed so that he wasn't actually running on the ramps, but flying a few inches over them. "Feel-the-need-for-speed?"

"Re-eev!" Tech screamed. Tech lost control but managed to keep his glowing emerald magnetic sheath tight around him. The coyote corkscrewed down a round tunnel before he could pull out. "I don't need to go any faster!"

"Ah,-Tech,-you-can-handle-it! Good-job,-well-done-on-pulling-out-of-that-spin-by-the-way. You're-doing-great!" the roadrunner encouraged. Rev REALLY loved being big brother and he was having a blast leading Tech into all sorts of trouble. But not to worry. He'd lead the silly coyote back out of it again, so it was all good. The speedster flew low, awash in his best buddy's slipstream. It was a new experience for the roadrunner to be pulled along in reduced air pressure and forward suction directly behind the rapidly moving coyote. Man, no wonder migratory birds flew in lines. It was much easier to fly with Tech breaking the wind resistance for him. At the next intersection, Rev veered off onto a blue checkered secondary ramp and resumed weaving his course around that of the coyote's in an effort to come out ahead in the race. "Oh,-man-this-is-sooo-COOL! We-just-have-to-get-my-little-brother-Rip-up-here-for-a-visit. He-might-not-be-as-fast-as-we-are,-but-he-is-a-roadrunner, Even-if-he-doesn't-choose-to-run-fast-most-of-the-time,-he-can-certainly-withstand-the-acceleration-and-we-can-easily-make-a-zoomatrix-for-him."

The two speeding Loonatics abruptly split further from each other, each taking a divergent ramp as they came across a group of pedestrians. When they'd first come to Blanc it was during the invasion of Optimatus and Deuce's troops, and the citizenry had gone to ground in the emergency shelters. Now the place was a hive of activity. Vehicles of all sorts traversed the ramp-ways and pedestrians crowded the pedestrian paths and stairwells. The crowds were exceptionally thick on the ramp-ways under the major domed cities above and on the motorways leading to and from the Royal Tweetums palace dome. Being the crossroads of eternity, or at least the universe, there was a wide assortment of citizenry, not to mention visitors from far reaches. The native population of Blanc was a near polar opposite from that of Acmetropolis. Back home, anthromorphs were the minority; here, they held the majority with only a few humans in the mix.

The two friends avoided the booby trapped tunnels around the secret throne room, choosing instead to take their little drag race further from the main hub of Blanc activity. Unfortunately, as Tech discovered, trapped corridors weren't the only danger of racing in Blanc. A large transport vehicle loomed ahead on a collision course with Rev. Without thinking, Tech shifted his weight, jumping his track to land on the roadrunner's and pushing Rev out of the way. Since the avian was flying a few inches off the road surface he recovered quickly, but not before the coyote was run down by the truck.

Tech bounced down some stairs and over the edge of a ramp. The resultant drop sped the out of control coyote past several more motorways, then through an oval shoot only to be funneled into a blind alley. Desperately, the green toned Loonatic tried to magnetically latch into the tunnel's metal walls to slow himself down, but succeeded only in ripping up the zigzag patterned paneling and pulling it with him toward the abrupt end looming ahead. Dreading the inevitable, Tech whimpered. This was going to hurt. A lot.

The crack up was quite spectacular and despite the concern he felt for his coyote friend, Rev couldn't help but wish he had a holographic-video camera to record it. It took the roadrunner next to no time to circumnavigate the transport. He found Tech's surf board snapped in two and Tech stumbling around a bit. The whole blind alley was a shambles. Tweetums wouldn't be thrilled with the added damage to repair. Apparently, the genius managed to hold his board together with his magnetism for the crash landing but that was it. The high speed impact left Tech looking remarkable like an accordion. Then his green, healing glow surrounded him and at a molecular level his body structure realigned into its proper form as he regenerated. Rev picked up the green surfboard and with a little manipulation, collapsed the two pieces back into some semblance of the Loonatic symbol. The roadrunner put his arm around the coyote's shoulders to steady him. He'd been doing a lot more of that lately, starting with the whole mad music man thing and the Blanc invasion scenario.

Rev looked around the corridors and stairwells. They were deep in some of the pedestrian walkways, but he'd never been to this section before. "Where-are-we?"

"No idea." Tech shuddered as the last of his fractures healed and the dislocations settled into their proper frame. The pain receded, but the coyote still leaned on the roadrunner for support. "So, where are we?"

His eyes once again glowing red, Rev activated his GPS. That was the whole point of this exercise, after all. The inverted nature of the planet made it tricky. The roadrunner could 'see' with his internal global positioning, and he was starting to learn the correlations and to recognize where everything was in relation to him here on Blanc. With Tech's 'surf board' broken it would take them longer than usual to get home. Rev smirked. But not that much longer. He grabbed Tech and took off. The roadster took them unerringly to the proper hatch, then he guided the still woozy coyote 'up' to the surface.

The Loonatic duo paused a moment to look at the rosy sky above them. They could see Wormhole Station with its currently pink rainbow of rings around it in the center of the planet above them not entirely unlike a sun up in the sky, but the far curve of the planet beyond was too far to see. With the gravity generators, the surface of Blanc appeared and felt as flat as any conventional planet. The new Loonatic tower was situated a fair distance from the royal palace. If any enemies attacked, they didn't want both palace and headquarters taken out with one blow. Rev sighed. The red and black clad roadrunner was perhaps the Loonatic having the hardest time adjusting to the move. His mom, pop, and younger brother were still back on Acmetropolis, but it was more than that. Every time he used his internal GPS, the odd inverse curvature of Blanc that showed up in his mind's eye reminded him that he was a stranger here.

"Come-on,-lets-get-back." Rev took Tech to the single stemmed, tree-like tower that housed their headquarters. The dome on top was actually similar in many ways to the sphere atop their old base on Acmetropolis. Indeed on the inside, it was a close replica of their old base. It was just the outside that looked alien. Rev chuckled. "Home-sweet-home. Instead-of-living-in-a-hamster-ball,-we-now-live-in-a-tree-house."

Red Triangle

Far from galactic center, though some would contest not near far enough, a ship left the safety of its armada and ventured deeper into the brilliant star field and colorful nebulae of the Merry Melody galaxy. The ship itself appeared little more than a golden ball topped by a sweeping solar wind comb that gave it a vague Romanesque appearance. The main sphere was nestled in between two broad, crimson colored, triangular wings; as well as between massive amounts of armaments, which at the slightest command could multiply to double the firepower. For anyone who'd encountered such a vehicle before, they knew it to be a Martian Battle Cruiser. And not just any Martian battle cruiser, but the flagship of the entire Martian invasion force. Even more alarming than the appearance of said cruiser, was the occupants . . . or rather one of the occupants in particular.

Tyrr'henia, Martian Queen and destined ruler of the cosmos, didn't often accompany her commander in the forefront of conquest. When she did, it was usually only to observe from the safety and comfort of the moon-sized, imperial Galactic Death Cruiser that served as mobile base for the cloud of small warships that comprised the bulk of the invasion fleet. The small warships resembled smaller versions of the battle cruiser, except instead of broad triangular wings, the sphere-like cockpits were each ringed with a stabilizing hoop. However, both Death Cruiser and warships were left behind this time. The current intergalactic situation demanded the queen's personal attention. While Tyrr'henia implicitly trusted her commander's military prowess as well as his ability to keep her safe, General Melvin tended to be a bit . . . heavy handed . . . in matters of diplomacy.

Queen Tyrr'henia languidly relaxed back, basking in the ruby glow of her temporary audience chamber, one slim leg draped over the armrest of the angular, vermilion throne. The lighting mimicked that of her home world, Mars. This throne room was positively dinky compared to that in her royal palace on the home world, but it did have the raised, circular dais and a few of the huge, green vulture-like servants that befitted her station. Two of the Martian creatures stood slightly behind and to the sides of her, fanning their queen with large, fluffy pink fronds, even though the air conditioning on the battle cruiser worked perfectly. A third green buzzard, down-turned beak and pink feathered topknot held proudly, stood further back lightly playing a Martian harp; a musical instrument that looked, and sounded, like it had had an unfortunate run-in with a violin and a harpsichord. A couple of army green metallic Centurion robots populated the shadowed edges of the room.

The queen herself closely resembled her ancestor Queen Tyr'ahnee of the 24th and ½ century. She was a tall, slim humanoid with long white hair, ebony skin, and wide violet eyes. A painted, ornamental violet line crested her cheekbones defining her heart-shaped face. It peaked up in the middle as if traversing the bridge of a nose; however, like all Martians, her features displayed neither nose nor mouth. Also like her forebears before her, Tyrr'henia's royal apparel held a distinct ancient Egyptian flair. The wide collar, armbands, halter top and belt were made of gold while a royal purple gauze gown only partially concealed her long legs. Instead of a crown, she wore a wide, gold and royal purple headband topped with a perfectly cut, green Gordovian power crystal.

General Melvin entered the audience chamber and stood at the foot of the dais awaiting his queen's acknowledgment. Sergeant Sirius stood beside his master, silently recording all around him. Most true Martians were tall,well formed and well muscled, though a small percentage of them were not. Melvin, like most of the brilliant military strategists before him, was short by anyone's standard. He wore an army green, Romanesque helmet complete with face-guards, movable visor, and crest on his round head. With his black Martian skin and featureless countenance, Melvin looked remarkably like a cannonball with eyes. He also wore metallic, drab green forearm and shin guards, and short, kilt-like hip armor. White gloves and shoes and a red bodysuit completed his uniform.

"Well, general?" Queen Tyrr'henia's voice was soft but carried remarkably well.

"He has seen the urgency of the situation, my queen." Melvin bowed slightly, his blue-grey eyes lit up with glee. "And he is calling an emergency summit meeting even as we speak."

"Excellent." Queen Tyrr'henia sharply clapped her hands, sending away her green vulture attendants. When dealing with less advanced races, she found it well not to overly flaunt her position. "Conference them in, commander."

At a signal from Melvin, Sergeant Sirius bopped his nose with a forepaw and the telecommunication screen flared to life. An expansive backdrop of exotic tapestries in robins egg blue, bright gold, and deep amber filled the main monitor. Central in the décor was Blanc's stylized rendition of Wormhole Central which drew the eye down to a throne almost as massive as the Martian queen's. Sweeping bejeweled golden banisters led up the steps to the burnished throne. In all the expanse of wealth, it was easy to overlook the small, yellow anthropomorphic bird sitting in an amethyst adorned booster seat in Blanc's royal throne.

"_Kiss me sweet, kiss me gentle. __Kiss me on my little dimple. Kiss me sweet, kiss me gentle. __Kiss my little cares away._" What wasn't so easy to 'overlook' was the insipid little song that the bird sang. As a tweety bird, the ruler of Blanc couldn't help but sing. In addition to his usual royal blue knickers, tunic and black boots, the Royal Tweetums also wore the royal purple cape and gem studded crown as befitted official functions. The small tweety bird's crown as well as scepter also sported the Wiffle ball look common to Blanc. "_Kiss me night, kiss me morning. Kiss me underneath the awning. Kiss me night, kiss me morning. Kiss my little cares away._" Tweetums finished singing his inane song before greeting the Martians teleconferenced into his throne room.

Before the formal greetings could be completed, the screen split and Blanc's throne room shared visual space with the mayor of Acmetropolis' executive office. Ceiling high windows framed with cream colored draperies and sweeping valances showed a background of Acmetropolis cityscape behind the dark grained, carved desk. A full-sized flag depicting an anvil stood guard over in one corner. Seated at the desk was the dignified mayor of the city-planet. Though ostensibly an elected leader of the planet, Acmetropolis' mayor had no real opposition in running for the office for the last several elections. She sat dignified and poised, her black hair neat in its sweptback style and her slightly exotic features calmly composed. Her royal purple, full length business dress was as fine as any royalties' and her shoulder cape was clasped with elegant, titanium claps. Her round earrings were of the same bright silver metal. The Mayor's full, dignified voice added to the greetings.

Last to appear were the sibling rulers of Freleng, both Zadavia and Optimatus appeared in the wavering, pastel colors of full holographic projection common to their home world technology. They didn't conference in to share the telecommunication screen, but stood as freestanding holograms on the Martian flagship. Both Felengians were uncommonly tall and both siblings' long hair flowed up in the hologram's aura. Zadavia's was varying shades of blond from almost white to deep amber, while Optimatu's shoulder length hair and double pointed beard was a uniform deep purple with a wide streak of white. Even though the holographic projection masked their eyes in light, both were obviously concerned. The Martian queen noticed that none of the Frelengians' background surroundings were revealed in the hologram, keeping secret any hint of Freleng. The mystery piqued her interest. Tyrr'henia reigned in her conqueror's spirit to attend to the matter at hand.

"Thank you for responding to this emergency session of the interplanetary leaders." Optimatus' deep, ponderous voice sounded a touch tired, as if coming back to rule his planet was more burdensome than he anticipated. Indeed, he was ill prepared to handle any political intrigue not of his own making. His dark rimmed right eye took in the assembled nobles of various races before him while his bionic left eye locked on the small Martian commander standing beside his dark queen. Melvin gave a slight nod, giving the male sibling leader of Freleng the illusion of having a personal ally.

While Optimatus presented the evidence, Melvin withdrew into his own thoughts. The cannonball headed Martian had discretely informed Optimatus of a security breach. The so-called civilized planets distrusted the Martians enough to discount any threat that wasn't of Martian origin itself. When Sergeant Sirius first detected some unknown party gathering information about the Martian people, General Melvin was worried enough to launch a full scale investigation. What his sergeant and Centurion robots discovered was some sort of entire spy network that was electronically infiltrating many of the surrounding civilizations' databases. The perpetrator was crafty, always stopping the leak and disappearing from the information matrix as soon as he got what he wanted. Melvin was able to discover neither exactly what information had been transferred nor who had acquired it. The general was quite worried. His own conquest plans might have been compromised. Even though his race was millions of years more advanced than most other civilizations, someone was continually able to foil his detection scans. Still, there was really only one candidate.

It made Melvin soo angry that anyone would gather information for a devastating takeover. Devastating takeovers were his specialty! The Martian general did not like the competition, but this wasn't something he could fix with a stick of PU 36. He had to play the political game . . . for now. But Melvin was anxious for the time when he could secure his position for a takeover without mucking about with useless politics. Renewed annoyance gripped the Martian that any puny creature could so thoroughly block and hide the evidence.

Melvin's attention drew back to the meeting as the evidence and warrant canisters materialized in each leader's state room and were brought to them. Queen Tyrr'henia unrolled the exquisitely thin and flexible computer screen contained in the tube and pretended to peruse it for the first time. "Oh my. This is serious. Serious enough that immediate action must be taken despite the lack of specifics."

The holographic Zadavia's shining eyes narrowed. Having once been betrayed, she was not so swift to trust again. "It seems, mayhap that the lady fains concern too easily."

"Don't be ridiculous." A touch of annoyance that clearly indicated that she was unused to being questioned sharpened Queen Tyrr'henia's response. "If we wanted to take over any of your pathetic little worlds we would simply swoop in and take them!"

The Queen's arrogance irritated Optimatus, but she spoke true. The Martians didn't usually bother with subtle political intrigue. The last of his reservations in accepting the Martian's evidence slipped from his mind. He leaned close to his sister to whisper in her ear. "The queen's arrogance is unbelievable."

"Oh, as yours used to be?" Zadavia teased back.

A gasp from both Prince Tweetums and the mayor of Acmetropolis drew Zadavia's attention back to the electronic documents before her. A slow dread crept through her. The techno spy's network had been carefully constructed, but the spy had not been careful enough . . . at least on the receiver's end that Melvin had hacked into. And as was pointed out in the documentation, the spy could only be from one group of beings . . . could actually be only one person from within that group, in fact.

"But where would we hold him?" The royal Tweetums considered his holding cells deep in Blanc's planetary crust. They held the traitorous Queen Grannicus and her henchman Slyth Vester well enough, but neither of those villains possessed super powers. "Blanc corrwectional facilities arwe not designed for his type."

"Also, meaning no disrespect of course, since Freleng's prison dimension seems somewhat less than secure," here the Martian queen inclined her head toward Optimatus in tribute to his own fairly recent escape, "in behalf of the Martian people, I offer to see to the criminal's incarceration. Our advanced technology should have no problem in keeping him properly contained."

Tweetums and Acmetropolis' mayor started to nod agreement. It seemed reasonable, but at Zadavia's vehement protests they hesitated. Both planetary leaders owed much to the Frelengian princess. During her exile from her own planet, she had greatly aided both of their worlds in providing a team of superheros to keep them safe and to return the royal Tweetums to his throne. Neither knew why Zadavia would refuse the Martians' offer, but they trusted her judgment.

"We'll take him." Acmetropolis' mayor stood up decisively from behind her massive, carved desk. Seeing the protest in the Martian queen's eyes, she continued firmly. "Since the meteor struck my planet, we have had a large number of hostile, highly powered individuals threaten us and we are equipped to deal with them. Also this spy is a native of Acmetropolis and as such he is our responsibility. Trust me. He WON'T be getting political asylum."

For having only eyes as facial features, Queen Tyrr'henia's ire at being thwarted was evident. After a moment, though the Martian royalty relaxed and nodded her consent. There would be other opportunities to acquire the spy's services. She placed her seal on the electronic document and instantly each of the leaders' copies were updated with it. With that matter settled, one by one, the assembled leaders added their marks to the arrest warrant.

" . . . no . . .." Fear and disbelief strangled Zadavia's protest. She could not believe that HE could be caught doing something like this.

Optimatus placed a supporting arm around his sister's shoulders to keep her upright in her shock. He knew Zadavia didn't want to believe that yet another of her most trusted allies would defect . . . but he'd walked the on wrong side himself . . . as had Rupes Oberon and Deuce. It seemed that his younger sister's ready trust was constantly cursed with betrayals. He knew how strong greed could be; greed for wealth, greed for power . . . greed for knowledge. And while anger ate at him that anyone would dare thus harm his sister, his own previous betrayal of her undermined his fury.

"I am sorry, Zadavia." Optimatus hesitantly placed his seal on the arrest warrant, then held it to his sister.

Zadavia's throat constricted so tight it hurt. She had to go along with the arrest or lose everything . . . her planet . . . her people. But if she did sign the warrant and vouch her testimony against him, she would lose her friend. Did one betrayal always lead to another? She had to admit that if she, herself, wasn't personally involved and didn't know the culprit, the evidence would convince even her of his guilt, and she too would have eagerly taken the same course of action as the other leaders. The tall, Frelengian woman raised her chin, facing her assembled fellow leaders that awaited her signature. The tears that flowed from her eyes were masked by the hologram's distortion, rendering them invisible to the assemblage. Zadavia set her features in regal detachment and added her mark.

"We must bring in the culprit." Queen Tyrr'henia sat forward in her throne, subconsciously taking command of the meeting. With the warrant signed, the time of action was upon them.

"My queen, I have had dealings with these creatures before. I do not trust them." Melvin spoke too low for his voice to be carried to the electronically gathered leaders. He knew what the Martian queen planned and tried one last time to talk her out of it. "When first we met, they destroyed my Galactic Death Cruiser, decimated my fleet, and stole away my gaming partner!"

"But they are heroes, General. They are honorable." Tyrr'henia was not content with simply eliminating a threat, she wished to gain a valuable asset as well. Their spy was too dangerous for her to take directly. She needed the heroes to neutralize him first. The Martian queen had always found the honorable to be the easiest to manipulate. "And they will deliver."

General Melvin stubbornly folded his thin arms over his equally thin chest. He would comply with his queen's wishes. But he didn't have to like it. "Involving those . . . persons . . . does not please me, my queen."

The Marian queen rose smoothly to her feet and by her regal bearing alone, commanded the floor. Putting on an air of benevolent concern, Tyrr'henia raised her voice to address the leaders of planets. "My esteemed associates, since you seem wary of Martian involvement, I believe it is time to place a call to the leader of the Loonatics."


	2. Chapter 2

Loonatics Unleashed:

"Silent Conspiracy"

(This story is post Season Two – after the cartoon series.)

Rated T for Intrigue.

Disclaimer: Loonatics Unleashed, Duck Dodgers in the 24th and ½ Century, Looney Tunes, and all related Characters and Elements are trademarks of Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Other references, lyrics and quotes belong to their individual artists, authors, copyrights, or trademarks.

Yellow Triangle.

Wondering if he should handle his Loonatics first to gain their support and then go after the culprit, Ace paced the Loonatics' living room finally wandering over to the large, wall-sized window. But he really didn't see how to hold what was sure to be a very heated argument without tipping his hand and alerting the traitor. Besides, Lexi was out shopping and he definitely didn't want to have to go through explanations twice. The troublemaker also wasn't home. Part of Ace was glad, but most of him knew the delay just made it worse. Feeling sick to his stomach, the Loonatic leader decided he'd rather just get it over with. Ace longed to go to his private dojo holo-room, but he lingered in the main living area to confront his teammate when he finally returned.

By the time Rev and Tech got home Tech was fully recovered. Seeing Ace standing by the panoramic widows looking out over Blanc, the two wandered over to join him. Tech looked around the familiar room, despite the fact that some of the dimensions were slightly off and all the furnishings were new, their home was pretty much as it had been back on Acmetropolis. "You'd never know we'd moved until you look out the window, would you, Chief?"

Hurt, anger, and hate coursed through the yellow hued bunny; and Ace's carefully constructed calm threatened to shatter. The royal Tweetums had called him in and personally delivered his charge. It hadn't helped that all the primary planetary leaders were teleconferenced in as well. It had taken Zadavia and the other planetary leaders the better part of the morning to convince him, but in the end he had to concede to their demands. Ace turned to face the culprit and his gaze snagged on the pieces of green triangle in the inventor's hands . . . Tech had broken his Loonatic symbol?

Unnerved by Ace's solemn glare, Tech lost his grin and edged toward the door to escape into his lab. "I'll, uh, just go start on repairs."

Ace stopped Rev from following after his friend with a slightly shaking hand on the avian's slender shoulder. Ace's ice blue eyes now stared into the roadster's green ones. "I had a little chat with Tweetums."

'Oh, boy,' Rev thought and swallowed hard. Had the little, yellow bird already discovered the damage? He did love being the big brother of the duo, but that also made him accountable for getting him and Tech into trouble. The red clad roadrunner started to organize his defense on why they'd been playing hotrod.

Red Triangle.

"Oh. Hi, Tech, I didn't know you were here, well I was just uh, looking for the home shopping channel, yeah that's right, and now I'm done, so I'll be going. Bye." In Tech's main lab, Danger spun to face the coyote scientist while simultaneously trying to block his view of the small computer screen and to blindly close the program he was accessing. He hadn't been that successful at locating what he was really after. Even without encryption, the techno geek's devices were incomprehensible.

"Hey, hey, hey, slow down, Duck. You're talking nearly as fast as Rev." Tech set his broken skimmer-breast shield on the workbench and captured his teammate's eyes. Judging by the flash of surveillance footage he glimpsed on the computer screen, Tech guessed what Danger was looking for. "Fast talking is Rev's department, remember? Now tell me why you're trying to find the dead spots in base security."

Danger's blue eyes grew big for a moment. How did Tech know what he was after? The orange toned mallard chuckled nervously. "Heh. Busted, huh?"

"Ah, that would be 'yes.'" A tiny light winked on at a small workstation and the scientist quickly reached over and tapped it off. He'd deal with the call later. Tech then folded his arms across his chest to await Danger's reply.

"So, uh, Tech ol' buddy ol' pal, we'll just keep this between the two of us, right? I mean after all what's the harm in cashing in a little on the retail trade?" Danger grabbed his own beak, snapping it closed with his feathered fingers as he realized that he said more than he'd meant to. Danger paused, wondering if he needed to bribe the coyote genius with a cut of his earnings to gain his cooperation. He decided to try to appeal to Tech's better side first. It would be cheaper that way. The mallard put on his most innocent expression. "Please?"

"Word of a coyote." Tech rolled his eyes. Volunteer work had never set completely right with the somewhat materialistic Danger Duck. He couldn't blame the mallard, he supposed. Spending his early childhood in a poor orphanage had instilled a bit of a hoarder tendency in the duck. Besides, Danger's entrepreneurial activities were mostly harmless and Tech saw no reason to spoil them. The coyote smirked. The best kept secrets were the ones that no one knew you had. "Your secret is safer with me than it is with you. No one will even know that I have it."

Tech nudged the mallard aside and pulled up a map that showed several greyed out areas scattered throughout the base. He didn't know what merchandise the anseriform was trafficking in; but if it was something that Danger kept secret from the rest of them, he didn't want to know. Sometimes ignorance was bliss. It was probably old Loonatic junk like Ace's worn out sneakers that the duck was selling as memorabilia. Danger had insisted on bringing almost everything with them from their old base. Practically all that was left was an emergency stash of old backpacks containing food, clothes, and first aid supplies at both their old tower and in Zadavia's old underwater base on Acmetropolis that they might need to pick up if called back home for an emergency. The coyote shook his head. Still, Tech trusted the action hero mallard to keep his business legitimate.

"So how's the communicator tracker working?" Tech asked while he brought up the files that Danger had been trying to access.

"The what? . . . oh, right," Danger brought up his wrist communicator and studied the small display that Tech had added to it. The tiny device worked great, not only at pinpointing where each of his teammates were, but also giving him coordinates that he could use to instantly quack over to them. "The Quack Finder works great as long as I remembered to actually use it. You should put a proximity alarm on the thing, then you wouldn't be able to sneak up on me like that."

"Duck," Tech chided lightly. There was a slight condescending tone to the genius' voice. "I didn't create the 'Quack Finder' as you call it so that you could spy on your teammates and more conveniently carry out your nefarious lucrative activities. I created it so that you could come to our aid in battle if needed."

"Yeah, yeah, sure, sure," Danger waved off the coyote's lecture. The black and orange clad mallard peeked around the taller coyote's form to see what information the genius had found for him.

"Ah, here we go." The inventor uploaded a copy of the headquarters map into Danger's cellphone screen display and pointed out several of the locations. "Here, here, and here are surveillance dead spots within the entryway. A great place to stash stuff until it can be properly taken care of . . .. Oh, wait, this one's a real security hazard. I'd better plug it up so don't use it."

"And you won't be 'plugging up' any of these others?" Danger peered at the tiny screen.

"Duck, I have enough security issues to address without bothering about every little corner and cupboard," Tech chided. Then he chuckled. "Don't worry. I'll give fair warning before I do."

Danger nodded. That was easy. The orange and black clad duck glanced around the lab before leaving. It was largely empty and clean with all the tools neatly in their places. All the failed experiments and blown-up inventions that cluttered the coyote's old lab were still shrunk down, packed away, and in storage. Tech's Molecular Reconstructor that Rev's pa had tried to purchase from him back on Acmetropolis had made moving to their new headquarters much easier. The lab's immaculate state would change as the genius worked on new projects here on Blanc. Danger's gaze caught on an odd, tinker toy like construct that looked as if it was made from carrot sticks, olives, and other, less identifiable remains of someone's lunch. The thing was actually hobbling around in its dish. Danger knew that Tech sometimes substituted in kitchen supplies when he ran short of materials, as he had when he'd made a mock up of Acmetropolis back when Dr. Dare had been 'Going Underground,' but this was ridiculous! "So uh, Techy, did you lift the 'no eating in the lab' ban, or did you just run out of wire or something?"

"Neither." Tech smiled. He was actually quite pleased with his first attempt at organic mechanics. "Using bio-mechanics, I am conducting organic circuitry experiments."

"Yech." Danger spared the bizarre contraption a final disgusted look, "It still looks like week-old food to me."

"Rrhhng rrhhng kkrrngblaa food?" Slam in his swirling purple tornado mode broke through the lab door, drawn unerringly to the lure of food.

"Slam, NO!" Tech shouted, but it was too late. The burly Tasmanian devil chomped the small bio-mechanical device necessitating a complete restart.

Deciding that they'd overstayed their welcome, Danger grabbed Slam and quacked the two of them away. Besides, he needed Slam to help him move his inventory to the dead spots that Tech had shown him.

Once he was alone, Tech started right in on fixing his breast shield. The kiln to smelt the metal fired up with the roar of a jet. It was actually serendipitous that his green, triangular Loonatic symbol broke. Repairing it provided the perfect cover. The sound and heat distortion would baffle any attempt at eavesdropping. The coyote inventor dropped pieces of metal into the kiln and tested the alloy for composition. While the metal melted, Tech slipped a Frelengian control chip into the small workstation and answered the call that he'd previously put on hold.

[ZZ code encrypted conferencing now open]

The message on the screen typed itself out. Then the flashing cursor jumped down a line to spell out a new message.

[Situation nearing critical. What do you have for me?]

Tech streamed in his report, typing the data faster than most people, barring Rev, could talk.

Instantly, all the priority security footage and classified information that the genius had intercepted was on its way. Privacy violations bothered the coyote, and knowing Zadavia's tendency to 'eavesdrop,' he'd undertaken updating the security on the feeds. In doing so, not only had he accidentally made several very intriguing discoveries, but also he discovered the security workarounds to gain access to more. After several nights' work, he'd gained access to all the pertinent security lines of the four premier planets. And all four planets, Acmetropolis, Blanc, Freleng, as well as Mars, used open circuit cameras that were ridiculously easy to tap into. The real work had been in the decrypting.

[Receipt confirmed. Suspicions increasing. Final contact. It is crucial that none of this be connected to me.]

[Not to worry. All is held in the fullest confidence.]

The small screen flared briefly. Tech's eyes flew open wide as he detected a third party attempting an illegal access into their ZZ encrypted communication. The coyote was unsure who the infiltrator was, though he had some very nasty suspicions. With as advanced as the probe was, it could only be one of a very few candidates, either by virtue of their advanced technology or by virtue of their spy – counterspy tendencies. His 'boss' was actually one of those few. Though that said boss was, was highly unlikely. At the rate they were breaking codes and crashing through his firewalls, they'd soon be in.

[Cut and scram, boss! Delete all sensitive data from your system NOW! Better yet, destroy system completely. I'll handle what I can from this end. Out.]

Tech typed furiously attempting a reverse hack. Since he didn't know for sure who the infiltrator was, the genius just threw everything he had at it . . . including the Martian destruct protocols that he and Rev had discovered the first time they'd met Melvin. The war-like race was certainly advanced enough to threaten his security measures. As soon as the Trojan style computer virus was typed in, Tech hit the enter key and waited.

[upload complete]

Tech practically ripped out the Frelengian universal control chip and threw it in a drawer then locked it. He then quickly replaced the memory card in the computer with a new one and tossed the old one into the kiln. A sardonic grin touched the corner of his muzzle as the memory card melted into its components, the unusable elements floating to the surface as dross. There would be no residual image or incompletely deleted data to be decoded. Tech tested the alloy again for composition and added another piece or two of scrap metal to the mix. He breathed deeply to lower his stress level and to get back to being a normal Loonatic. The Trojan he unleashed had likely already destroyed all data at the interloper's end. And if his calculations were correct, it would have also cause a critical overload in the enemy's mainframe. There would be no recorded evidence. And to ensure the dearth of evidence, the data card he smelted would go into remaking his breast shield.

Smirking to himself, Tech poured the glossy metal into the micro-mechanical cleavage apparatus. Once properly annealed and cooled, he'd bond it with the green pigment finish, and his Loonatic symbol would be ready for reattachment as his breast shield. People always kept their secrets close to their hearts, did they not? He just did so a bit more literally than most.

Yellow Triangle:

Ace drummed his fingers on the counter, deliberating. He'd tried several times to contact Tech, but all he got over the com-link was a loud roaring noise and such a high degree of visual distortion that he wasn't even sure that it was Tech he was seeing. The Loonatic leader considered going to the lab to get the genius personally, but the bunny didn't want to confront the coyote in his own domain. Tech would be a horror in his lab.

Finally the background noise ceased and the visual distortion slowly smoothed. Ace watched Tech pour out his new chest shield, then spoke into the communicator. "Tech, I needs ya ta come ta da primary containment unit."

Startled, Tech jumped at the sudden intrusion, but then smoothly acknowledged his leader. It would take him only a few minutes to finish up here, then he'd go see what Ace wanted. "Sure thing, Chief."

"NOW, Tech!" Ace, slammed his fists down on the counter before him as Tech continued adjusting the settings on his machine. Beside him, Rev's face scrunched in concern. It had taken quite some time for the Loonatic leader to convince the speedster that he wasn't interested in the avian's racing confessions. Ace had only pulled Rev aside to discretely rule out continued espionage while the roadrunner and coyote were out. Obviously concerned even though he didn't know the situation, the roadster had hung around annoyingly close after their chat. "Rev, get him here."

Rev hesitated for a split second before complying. He couldn't figure it out. The yellow toned bunny was usually the most calm and collected of the Loonatics, but Ace was definitely stressed out over something . . . and it wasn't his and Tech's race through inner Blanc. Having thought this through, but deciding not to voice his concerns, the roadrunner took off in a blaze. Maybe Tech could figure out what was bothering the bunny. Within moments he and the coyote were back.

"Come on guys, what's so important that you couldn't even let me shut down the mirco-cleavage unit?" Tech pulled his arm from Rev's grasp. "If left to run on its own, it will ruin the whole process . . . not to mention risk critical meltdown."

The previous concern on Rev's face altered to alarm. "Critical-meltdown? You-mean-it-might-explode!? Oh-Tech,-we-just-got-the-lab-set-up-and-now-you're-telling-me-that-we-might-end-up-having-to-do-it-all-over-again?"

At hearing the scientist's complaint about 'leaving the burner on,' relief flooded Ace. It was just the excuse he needed to send off Rev. This was hard enough as it was without the roadrunner underfoot. Ace's grip tightened reflexively on the warrant for Tech's arrest. The message tube was concrete evidence of his charge to bring in the culprit. "Rev, go shut down the lab."

Ace locked the door behind the roadrunner so Rev wouldn't barge back in on them. Once alone, the Loonatic leader turned to face his coyote teammate. He felt that he should allow Tech to answer the accusations that the interplanetary council had charged against him, but Ace knew that if the genius had any advanced warning, he'd be impossible to bring in. "Do ya trust me?"

"Of course, Chief. Absolutely."

"Good." Ace tossed a lime green prison jumper at Tech along with the order to remove all his gadgets and put it on.

Tech balked, alarmed at the seriousness in Ace's blue eyes. The genius desperately tried to think of why he was in trouble but found nothing. Perhaps Ace wanted him to go undercover? But that didn't make sense either. Ace would just tell him of any mission. Tech hesitantly complied.

Though confused, Tech's face was open, honest, and ultimately trusting. Guilt smote the yellow toned bunny. Ace felt bad about exploiting trust, but he KNEW that information had been passed. And the coyote was truly wily if he could so thoroughly feign innocence. Ace let anger consume him at the betrayal . . . allowing a slight insanity to cloud his mind. At some instinctual level he knew that if he were completely rational, he'd never be able to do what had to be done.

Tech's eyes widen at the sight of Ace's eyes glowing bright yellow. But before he could protest, blackness engulfed him as Ace blasted him full force with his lasers and the concussion threw him back into the lockup cell. The Loonatic leader secured power restricting cuffs around the coyote's wrists then left the containment unit and sealed it behind him. The inventive genius would be able to escape his own creations eventually, but the containment unit should hold the genius long enough for the interplanetary enforcers to come take him away.

"Tech departed from the hero's path." Ace firmly told himself. Then the bunny's self-confidence crumbled. His long ears, as well as his shoulders, drooped. "So why do _**I**_ feel like the traitor?"

Yellow Triangle.

The Romanesque Battle Cruiser popped out of the swirling multicolored wormhole trailing cosmic streamers of blue, pink, and purple as it slightly lurched into orbit. Freleng was a lovely planet, obviously inhabited by a people who were as interested in art as they were in science. Few who ever came to visit were unmoved by its elegant grace in melding the practical with the pleasing. When seen through the panoramic curvature of a Martian Battle Cruiser's forward observation port, however, Freleng looked to be nothing more than a tempting conquest for a power hungry people.

General Melvin stood on the small, elevated command platform overlooking his bridge. The oval, theater-sized computer screen affixed above the observation port showed nothing but roiling, snow-like static and all the posts down on the bridge were being manned by Centurions.

"This is most irksome." Melvin's eyes slitted in annoyance. He'd had to assign the roman-style green and brass robots to pilot the ship through the wormhole when a rather aggressive computer code had practically annihilated his onboard computers. Melvin figured the Trojan came from the Loonatics. The miserable aliens had hacked into his ship's systems once before to steal away his primary energy processor . . . not to mention his gaming partner. True, there was no trace of it back to the Loonatics' headquarters, but they were the only viable threat in the whole sector.

The only positive thing about today was that instead of Sergeant Sirius occupying the command platform with him, it was Queen Tyrr'henia. It was crowded on the platform, but his shortness as well as her slender height allowed him a full view of the observation port and his command. Still, Melvin was nearly breathless at her proximity.

A mechanical bark sounded from the bridge below and Melvin tried the console before him in response to his sergeant's signal. The computer screen sputtered briefly to life before dissolving back into a haze of static.

Tyrr'henia's eyes narrowed in cunning amusement as a Martain explicative sounded beside her. The Martian queen glanced down at her commander. She feared that Melvin found all her 'politic-ing' as aggravating as his computer malfunctions. And perhaps some liked conquest a little too much to stop. She murmured. "Soon, General, soon."

Melvin idly tapped his fingers on the console before him waiting for either Freleng's response to their request for audience or for his computers to come back on line. Freleng was just first on his queen's list of stops. He was not looking forward to the rest of the political tour. The Martian loose cannon longed to claim Wormhole Central at Blanc, to conquer Acmetropolis and enslave Freleng, but most of all he wished to dispose of the Loonatics! But his queen refused him authorization for a frontal attack. The cannonball headed Martian was frustrated with the politics his queen played, but he was patriotic. He loved his home planet and his queen; and though it delayed his desires, he would obey her. Though he had to admit, if only to himself, that a great deal of his desire was steeped in revenge. "Revenge is a dish best served cold . . .. It is very cold in space." Melvin heard that bit of sage wisdom from his father. It was supposedly an old saying immortalized by an old earth documentary film, "Star Trek the Wrath of Khan."

It was bad enough when the Loonatics were confined to one planet, but now they were loose in HIS universe. Melvin noticed his fists were clenched and forced himself to relax his grip. In time, his revenge would end the Loonatics' interference in his future conquests to gain access to more planets and their resources. His revenge would end THEM period. Though he might consider reclaiming his gaming partner first. Sergeant Sirius' nose started flashing, signaling that Optimatus and Zadavia were ready to receive them. Melvin bowed to Tyrr'henia and ushered her to the evaporator bay. He'd try it the queen's way. After all, like conquest, politics was just another form of game.

"It is time to start acquiring a few allies . . . or should I say game pieces?" Melvin's laughter echoed through the Martian flagship.

Yellow Triangle.

A localized wormhole spiraled into existence between Acmetropolis and its moon. The yellow bands, mottled with orange and red, formed concentric rings that defined the spacial tunnel and a small security shuttle disgorged from the carefully controlled maelstrom. Watching the wormhole through the aft monitor, Ace shook his head. For the first time, it occurred to the yellow hued bunny that the colorful concentric rings that were the Merry Melody galaxy's symbol were nothing more than the stylized rings of a wormhole.

Ace switched his attention from the aft screen to the monitor showing the planet below. Clouded strands of debris and satellites encircled the globe, testament of the planet's tumultuous past. Yet even the huge meteor crater that marred a whole quadrant of the northern hemisphere had filled in with vibrant, thriving city. There was scarcely a landmass on the entire planet that wasn't covered by the lights of the city. But despite all that, his home planet was beautiful in its own way. Ace sighed and turned away. Somehow coming back to the city planet of Acmetropolis hardly felt like coming home.

"We're coming up on Acmetropolis Intergalactic Prison Ship – Station Alpha now, Ace." The prison transport captain stood, stiff and straight, behind the universal hero, fighting the impulse to salute. Though Ace was leader of the well renowned Loonatics, the bunny had no official status and had made it amply clear upon first boarding that he was 'Ace' not 'Sir.' "Do you wish to double check the prisoner's security?"

"No. I trust yer competence and dat of yer men, Capt'n." By NO means did Ace want to personally check up on Tech. After turning the coyote over to the armed escort, the yellow toned bunny distanced himself as far as duty allowed. He couldn't stand to hear any more of the coyote's rational lies. A humorless smile tugged the corners of Ace's mouth. To 'rationalize' was to tell oneself 'rational lies.' He wondered if Tech trusted him now. Trapped in his own musings, Ace barely noticed when the transport docked on the prison station's lower launch pad and the warden came aboard with his guards.

Prison Station Alpha was a heavily armored ship whose blocky main section sprouted numerous spike-like projections that extended both fore and aft. As big as a refueling space station, it orbited Acmetropolis' moon at such a speed that it remained permanently shielded between planet and satellite. The moon hovering 'overhead' shielded the ship from stray asteroids or other perils that might otherwise damage it, while the emptiness of space isolated the prisoners so that even if they escaped their cells, they would have nowhere to run. The warden, a large, dark complected and square-built man with stark white hair encircling his balding pate, took considerable pride in the fact that none had ever escaped the prison ship. There was the supposed breakout of Massive a while back, but it turned out to be nothing more than a robotic mock-up of the villain, so it didn't really count.

"Welcome, Ace. I only wish we could have met again under less unpleasant circumstances." The warden's voice was deep and calming, though there was an unaccustomed tightness to it. He personally owed much to the Loonatics, as they had freed him and his people back when Otto the Odd had taken over the station. It was unthinkable that after all the Loonatics had done for Acmetropolis and the universe that one of them had turned traitor. The one, in fact, who had designed most of the prison ship and all of its specialty cells for super-powered prisoners.

Ace remained silent. Sensing the action hero's reluctance, the warden forced a smile. Though the Loonatics usually escorted their prisoners directly to their cells, he couldn't blame Ace for not wanting to accompany this particular villain. "My men can handle Tech from here. You should return to Blanc. We don't want to leave the cosmos unguarded, now do we?"

Ace nodded. As the guards escorted Tech out, the Loonatic leader signaled Tweetums on Blanc. Off the stern of the ship, the swirling luminescence of the wormhole shifted down the Doppler scale from orange-yellow to the blue-violet for the return trip. The security shuttle lifted off again, but at Ace's order remained close at hand. Despite the warden's assurances that he had everything under control, he felt obligated to stay until Tech was completely processed and secured. Though in his own heart, Ace was unsure whether he delayed departure out of duty or out of a desire to postpone informing his Loonatics of their teammate's betrayal.

Yellow Triangle.

.

A/N In answer to a question posted to me, Rev referring to Tech as his little brother in chapter 1 is a blatant reference to one of my previous stories, "Faux Hunt." (Also found on this fanfic site.)


	3. Chapter 3

Loonatics Unleashed:

"Silent Conspiracy"

(This story is post Season Two – after the cartoon series.)

Rated T for Intrigue.

Disclaimer: Loonatics Unleashed, Duck Dodgers in the 24th and ½ Century, Looney Tunes, and all related Characters and Elements are trademarks of Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Other references, lyrics and quotes belong to their individual artists, authors, copyrights, or trademarks.

The elevator sank smoothly into the very center of the prison ship where the high powered wing was housed. Anyone breaking out would have to traverse the whole of the station's defenses to reach the launch pad. Two gun turrets extended down from the ceiling of the elevator as part of those defenses. They automatically tracked the anthropomorphic coyote surrounded by no less than six guards and the prison warden himself. All the guards were outfitted in riot suits, padded and armored with blast shield helmets that allowed only their mouths and jowls to show. None of them wore name tags. Early on in his career, the warden had instituted a policy of anonymity. This was spurred by a few high powered escapes back when the prison was still underground on Acmetropolis. Protecting his people's identities, as well as their families, in the event of vengeful villains became a top priority.

The warden scowled, the worry lines in his forehead deepened and his white mustache twitched. Of course, Tech knew who HE was, as well as his family. Not only had the coyote genius worked closely with him to improve the penal system, but the young anthromorph had also had the warden's twin brother as one of his professors in college . . . the professor who had actually expelled the genius just before the meteor struck. This was one reason why the warden was taking such precautions with this particular prisoner.

The warden glanced over at the prisoner, checking the ex-Loonatic's security devices. Tech met his gaze briefly before the warden broke eye contact and turned away. Tech could barely see through the electonet and force globe that surrounded him. Even so, he was struck again by the resemblance of the warden and his old college professor. Identical twins, the only real difference between the two was that the warden's voice was deep and soothing while his academic brother's held the slight tenor of a whine. And now it appeared he was on the bad side of them both. The soft snort of a laugh escaped Tech. Bad side, indeed! Power dampening cuffs, electronet, AND force-globe . . . when really only one of the three restraining devices would have held him. Not to mention the hidden surveillance cameras, wall and ceiling mounted gun turrets, knockout gas jet nozzles, and armed guards. He hadn't seen this much security ever . . . even when they had transported the Actinoid Curium 247 when Duck's old friend, Pinkster, had infiltrated the team and tried to steal it. It was a backhanded compliment to his abilities he supposed. Though by no means did Tech feel honored.

The lift doors opened onto the steel blue corridor of the high security wing. The guards pushed Tech's force-globe forward out of the elevator and past the cells of jeering inmates. The electonet entangling him bound his movements nearly causing him to fall. Even Adolpho's dolphin chattering could be heard from his aquarium cell. Having put all of them behind bars of his own design did not make Tech the most well-liked addition to the penal population. The only ex-felon who might have been friendly toward the turncoat coyote was currently out on probation . . . due in large part to the Loonatics and Tech's own efforts.

The golden glow of laser bars, poly-steel or forcefields marked the various cells that held Massive, Weathervane, Sypher, Adolpho, and Mastermind. These five, now along with Tech, were the only prisoners in this wing. All the other prisoners, though dangerous, were non-powered and required only more conventional containment. Prisoners such as Professor Zane and the Sagittarius Stomper had their cells in other wings of the penitentiary. The Stomper's cyborg prostheses had been adjusted down to average strength. Even Timeskip, whose grandfather stripped him of his time jumping power, didn't qualify. Of the known super powered villains, only Black Velvet, who was out on parole, was missing from the cell block.

The warden confidently led the way down the security block, his eyes focused on Mastermind's domed forcefield cell at the end. The three foot tall villainess had long black hair bound back in a ponytail, purple lips, green eyes, and . . . due to a failed experiment in her early criminal career . . . the largest head ever seen on a human being. The villainess was currently sitting on the edge of her bed, the only piece of furniture in the cell, reading a technical thesis. The rest of her cell was filled with stacks upon stacks of reading material in the old fashioned form of books and magazines. The technopathy power that she inherited from the meteor strike made even electronic readers too dangerous for her to have. At a single touch, she could transform any metal, any mechanical or electronic device into a devastating weapon. The technopath's ability was actually a distorted match to Tech's own genius and magnetic ability. The main difference between the two powers being that Mastermind's creations lasted only until the energy with which she imbued them was depleted, while Tech's inventions were independent from his magnetism.

In tele-communicating with Ace prior to the prisoner transfer, the Loonatic leader had warned the warden of the coyote's security devices' limitations. They were short-term measures only. Even General Deuce's force-globes, that he used to contain Danger and Optimatus during his takeover, though they effectively dampened superpowers, were only very short term. Deuce had transferred his prisoners to a long term containment facility as soon as he could. Besides, the force-globes were too resource expensive for extended use.

But even if the power issue could be resolved, the coyote still posed a threat. Even without his powers Tech was a super genius and would be able to take apart any restraining device at the very least . . . and at worst case, re-invent them into a destructive weapon. Though it didn't suppress superpowers, at least in Mastermind's cell there was no technology accessible from the inside. Ace agreed that the technopath's cell was their best bet. In the 'Acmegeddon' incident, the Loonatics were temporarily held in Mastermind's old cell. Though Tech worked on breaking out from the inside, they only managed to escape when Tech figured out the release code and a teammate on the outside punched it in.

It wasn't usual penitentiary policy to assign roommates in maximum security detention, but they couldn't get a specialized cell for Tech. The ingenious coyote was the one who usually made them. Besides, the warden trusted that the two villains' animosity toward one another would keep them both at bay.

"Oh, warden," Mastermind pleasantly addressed her jailer. The big headed villainess knew beforehand that she would be sharing a cell, but the penal officers hadn't even provided a bed for her new 'roomie.' "How about some newspapers to put down for the doggie."

Tech stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes widening in alarm when he realized which cell was his. The head guard gave the force-globe a rough shove to get him moving again. The anthropomorphic coyote slipped on the curved floor of the containment bubble. This time he did fall and, due to the still present cuffs and net, he was unable to rise again.

"Careful there." The head guard placed a steadying hand on the force-globe, a slight sardonic note in his voice. "We wouldn't want you to hurt yourself."

The warden turned, not having seen the cause of the disturbance. He studied his guard's mostly shielded face, but saw only benign good humor there. Still . . .. "I don't want to catch you abusing ANY of the prisoners. Is that clear?"

"Yes sir! You don't have to worry about us, we're _professionals_." A smirk etched itself over the guard's features. "Nothing special. It will be business as usual."

The warden nodded, pleased that his men would not allow their personal feelings to interfere with their jobs. The locking mechanism for Matermind's cell required two keys, much like the old time nuclear launch key locks. The head guard had one that fit into the guard station near the cell, a second guard held the key needed for the keyhole near the elevator. Both were required simultaneously to open the cell. The warden realized that his last statement sounded disparaging. He had full confidence in his people; not wishing to imply otherwise by staying to oversee the lock-up, the warden left them to do their job. The square-built man turned and entered the lift to return to his office. He had a lot of paperwork to catch up on.

"No sir, not to worry." The prison guard's mouth twisted into a sneer. He clicked off the force-globe that encircled the coyote and tucked its control unit into a small cubbyhole in the security desk outside Mastermind's cell. The other devices he kept active for just a little longer. All of Tech's restraining devices were to be kept close to his cell . . . in case they were needed. And the guards would make sure they needed them often. "You won't catch us."

At the warden's departure, the catcalls from the other prisoners increased. Tech's ears, already smashed under the weight of the neuron net, lowered further. He struggled to his feet. He still couldn't believe he was actually in this predicament. Sharp reality intruded into his disbelief in the form of a policeman's truncheon in the small of his back. The electronet still hampered his movements and again Tech fell to the floor. Apparently, the force globe he was brought in not only kept him from escaping the enforcers, but also protected him from their hostility as well.

The head guard solidly kicked the downed dog in the gut, opening the invitation to the rest of the guards present as well. Nobody liked to have their trust betrayed; and for an action hero to go bad was the biggest betrayal they could think of. Having the dog in their prison gave them full leeway to exercise their indignation.

Tech curled to protect himself as best he could from the assault. With the power dampening devices still in place, he couldn't even heal himself. His claims of innocence and of not even knowing what charges against him were had no effect. A traitor's words were not to be trusted.

Mallory Casey, more commonly known as Mastermind, smiled broadly as she clamored up to stand on one of the tall stacks of books that filled her cell. The added height gave the big headed technopath a bird's eye view of Tech's induction into the penal system.

Though at first delighted with the guards' game of kick-the-dog, when it continued past the point of entertainment even for her sadistic tastes, Mastermind turned away. She sank to sit on a tall pile of books, taking slow deep breaths and clutching her stomach until she could shake the brutal images from her mind. With her back still to the guards, she heard her own forcefield cell walls momentarily power down. There was the thud of something heavy being dropped, then the low hum of the forcefield resumed. The guards left before the three foot high villainess finally turned to face her new cellmate. Her sarcastic grin was back in place.

"Well, well, well. I see the Loonatics finally wised up and sent their dog to obedience school," Mastermind said by way of greeting in her mocking, singsong voice. "What'd you do, Fido, bite the mailman?"

"Hardly," Tech ground out. He could barely move due to the guards' beating. At least they had removed the rest of his restraining devices before locking him in. An emerald glow spread over him. The coyote's regenerative ability quickly healed him, but it did nothing to sooth the sting of betrayal. "With the similarities in our abilities I guess I can see why they put us together, but I'm surprised they didn't ask you to design a cell specifically for me, Mallory."

"Who says they didn't? But the warden wouldn't release me in exchange for my services so I declined." Mastermind smirked as she recalled the offer. As Tech's molecular regeneration powered down, so did his emerald hue. Mallory studied the natural-toned fur that she hadn't seen on the coyote since their collage days. Many assumed coyotes to be a uniform grayish-brown color, but she knew better. The anthromorph's arms as well as the sides of his head and muzzle were a light reddish brown while his throat and belly was a soft buff color. Black-tipped guard hairs patterned his tawny back and tail tip. Tech was actually quite a pretty animal. "Besides, I wanted you for myself. I was getting lonely in here. There's nothing like having my own puppy dog with which to wile away the time."

A deep growl started in Tech's throat.

"Oh, knock it off, Fido." Mastermind smiled sweetly at her best enemy. "You're in no condition to go picking fights."

At that Tech fell silent. Much as he hated to admit it, Mallory was right. Here, he had no future and his past was pain. He'd concentrate on the now, but the now was torment as well. With a stifled whimper, the genius withdrew from his painful thoughts into mathematical computations. Finding no solace, Tech closed his olive colored eyes to block out his predicament.

Mastermind's smile broadened and she laughed. "This incarceration could prove most . . . 'enlightening' after all."

Yellow Triangle.

Ace drew in a deep breath then slowly let it out. It hissed between his teeth giving voice to his anxiety and frustration. The yellow hued bunny opened his eyes briefly, then forced his mind to calmness and resettled in his meditative lotus position. Though he appeared to be meditating, he was actually hyper aware of all around him. He held his Guardian Strike Sword across his lap and a scrolled message tube in one hand . . . the tangible proof that he'd need to convince the others. How long would it take Rev to finish his task? Not nearly long enough for the bunny to achieve calm, he wagered.

The yellow and black clad bunny's ears drooped and his hovering meditation platform settled to the living room floor. It was no use. Ace stood then paced over to the large widows. The living room, the game area, the open kitchen; everything appeared familiar until he looked outside. Instead of looking down on the skyscrapers of busy Acmetropolis, the pastoral landscape of Blanc met his gaze.

The Loonatic leader focused his sight out the wall-sized windows. Distant trees drew into focus, even individual leaves. Ace concentrated on one leaf, causing its serrated edges and veins to reveal themselves. It was another form of mediation. Ever since the meteor crash that gave them all their powers, the Loonatic leader knew he had optical enhancement along with his laser vision. But with a new team to shepherd and plenty of villains to rein in, he never took the time to properly developed his sharpened sight. Besides, with Rev's internal GPS his own telescopic and microscopic vision was superfluous.

Ace had always been one to trust his gut feelings. He'd always been sensitive to flashes of insight often getting a bad feeling about things. The yellow hued bunny was the first one to notice the deja vu of Timeskip when they'd had to relive that day 'Time after Time.' Since coming to Blanc, an almost sixth sense that allowed him glimpses of sight beyond sight seemed to plague him. Nothing definite, only split second flashes with no interpretation and no meaning, but just leaving him anxious and wondering. It wasn't some form of mystical insight. As Tech pointed out after their time troubles, it really was just that he was noticing details now that he quite simply hadn't seen before.

His automatic thoughts of Tech, soured the Loonatic leader's already pensive mood. Ace's ears pricked up as Danger entered the living area, talking on his cellphone.

" . . . and just how am I supposed to get my feathered hands on the original!? You try sneaking a diary from an overly possessive pink bunny with trigger happy ears!" Danger shouted into the phone. There was a slight pause during which the mallard's features firmed. "Look, I don't want to hear it. There are plenty of others I can go to that will pay out the nose for the copy . . .."

"Duck, I needs ta talk ta ya, . . ." Ace began, not even noticing that Danger was still on the phone.

"Oh. Hi, Ace, I didn't see you there!" Suddenly realizing that he wasn't alone, Danger snapped shut his phone. He'd call back his fanboy contact later. The entrepreneurial duck sputtered justifications for hawking his teammates' stuff. "I don't know anything about Slam's missing weights or Rev's baseball cap. I mean not that they ever even really used them and who knew they'd actually miss. . .."

"Duck!" Ace tried getting a word in edgewise.

"Aw, come on, Ace. You know we don't get paid for any of this. I, I, I'm just selling some useless junk that nobody really wants." Stammering as he still struggled to think of a way to get off the hook with his overly altruistic leader, Danger didn't notice Ace's grim look slowly morphing into confusion and agitation. Danger finally cracked and confessed. "What's wrong with setting aside a little nest egg for retirement?"

"DUCK!! This is not about YOU!" Ace practically screamed at the mallard. "It's about Tech's defection!"

"Huh, well what do you know. My secret really was safer with the coyote than it was with me." Danger slapped a feathered hand to his forehead. Of course Ace wasn't upset about his side business. What better way to get rid of unwanted junk than 'recycling' to those who would pay handsomely for it? Then Ace's words sunk in. Stunned, Danger Duck stopped short, even his egotistical self justification grinding to a halt. "Wait a minute! Did you say defection?! Our Techy??? As in TRAITOR!!"

"That's not funny, Ace." Having overheard Danger on the phone, Lexi had silently paced the mallard to see if he had actually gotten hold of her diary or not. She forgot all about her indignation with Danger and stormed into the room. "You shouldn't even joke about such things."

Ace briefly clenched his fists around the base of his long, yellow ears. This was not how he had wanted to inform his team. "It ain't a joke! Tech's been collecting and passing high security information!"

Lexi's eyes popped wide open. Ace had never yelled at her before . . . not even when she had taken her Fuz-Z bio-pet with her on a mission after he forbade it. She numbly took the scrolled arrest warrant that Ace thrust at her by way of explanation. "This, this can't be true. Come on guys, you know it can't! Oh, Ace, say it isn't true!"

Both Ace and Danger Duck tightened their arms around the pink bunny, but before either of the two heroes could think of a thing to say, Slam and Rev both entered the living room.

"Gblaa rrhhng true?" An awkward silence followed the Tasmanian devil's question. The silence went unnoticed by a certain red hued roadrunner intent on reporting his findings.

"I-checked-on-all-the-computerized-surveillance-feeds,-data-files,-and-even-the-backups-for-the-entire-base-like-you-asked,-Ace,-and-man-you-are-not-going-to-believe-what-I-found. Or-rather-what-I-didn't-find. What-I-didn't-find-was-ANY-information-at-all! No-footage,-no-logs,-no-graphs,-no-charts,-no-statistics,-no-nothing!" Rev's emerald eyes sought Tech's handheld computer that he'd borrowed without permission for his investigation. "And-it-wasn't-just-erased-either,-I-checked. All-the-data-storage-components-have-been-replaced-with-brand-new-ones-and-who-ever-did-it-either-took-the-old-ones-with-them-or-destroyed-them-completely. I-mean-there-is-no-trace-of-them-anywhere-including-the-disposal-units. It's-like-they-never-existed,-but-of-course-we-all-know-they-did."

Ace solemnly watched the roadrunner, letting Rev ramble on. It was a lousy trick, and a mean one to boot. He knew it. Call it cowardice, but setting up Rev to make the discovery on his own was the only way Ace could think of to convince the runner about his best friend.

"Maybe-Tech-should-go-over-my-findings,-he'd-be-better-able-to-figure-this-all-out. I-mean-if-there-is-someone-patching-into-our-systems-to-pass-along-information-like-you-said-then-we'd-better-get-to-the-bottom-of-this-immediately,-if-not-sooner." Rev looked again at the palmtop computer in his hand, but it too had a new memory card in it. "Does-anyone-know-where-my-main-coyote-is? I've-been-looking-for-him-on-my-internal-GPS,-but-I-can't-find-him-anywhere-and-we-really-need-him-now. One-of-his-specialties-is-surveillance,-after-all."

Rev finally wound down from explaining his curious findings when he realized that no one pinched his beak closed to shut him up. The silence of the others pressed in on him. The roadster looked up to find his teammates' unnerving stares fixed on him. Lexi silently held out the warrant for Tech's arrest, but Rev didn't take it. He held the 'proof,' or more accurately, the 'non-proof' in his hands already. All he'd found was that someone had made a clean sweep of the system. New parts put in and everything. All circumstantial evidence. But in its way, the immaculate absence of evidence was all the more condemning. Tech's palmtop clattered to the floor from nerveless fingers as Rev made the connection. It landed on a corner, cracking its casing. Another thing broken. "It's-Tech-isn't-it? Tech-did-this. He's-the-only-one-who-could-have."

The roadrunner stumbled down the ramp into the sunken living room to where his teammates had gathered. Rev collapsed to sit on the round coffee table with his head in his hands. How could his friend-brother have betrayed them like this? Betrayed him? Tech was worse than dead. He was his enemy. "Oh,-Tech,-what-happened?-how-could-you?"

Danger sagely shook his head while laying a comforting hand on Rev's shoulder. "I always said that coyote was way too smart for his own good! Not to mention that he is way too smart for OUR good. *sigh* No matter how you try, a coyote just never makes a good pet."

"Gee, thanks, Duck. We all feel so much better now." Lexi folded her arms sternly across her chest, annoyed at the mallard's callousness.

"Any time, team. That's what action hero teammates are for!"

Slam bopped the mallard upside the head. Danger could use a little sensitivity training. Tech was only accused at this point. There'd been no trial yet. It wasn't proven that Tech actually betrayed anyone. "Rrhhng nngbl gblaa suspicion, right?"

"So,-" Rev abruptly stood, took a deep breath, then spewed out the words as fast as he could before his voice cracked with the emotions that coursed through him faster than even he could run. The roadrunner's eye's took on their signature crimson glow as he searched again for the coyote. "Where-is-he? When-I-catch-up-with-that-friend-and-brother-of-mine,-he'd-better-have-a-VERY-good-explanation-for-all-of-this!"

"Gone." Ace replied, stonily. "They're holding him pending the trial."

It suddenly came clear why Ace had sent him off while the Loonatic leader talked with Tech earlier. Anger distorted Rev's face. "You-had-them-take-him-away-without-even-letting-me-say-goodbye?! How-could-you,-you-. . .."

A huge, purple furred hand pinched the speedster's beak closed before the roadrunner said something that everyone knew he would later regret. Momentarily shocked by the unaccustomed treatment from the Tasmanian devil, Rev stalled giving Slam the split second he needed to slip his arms around the red hued fowl in a wrestling lock hold. Preventing the roadrunner from attacking their leader while EVERYONE calmed down seemed like a good idea. Defeated by his own findings, the speedster went limp in his teammate's grip. "Rrhhng pppttttgblaa, Rev."

"No-it's-NOT-okay!" Rev angrily shrugged off Slam's hug. Unable to stand his teammates' piercing, or pitying, or pleading gazes any longer, he took off, leaving a slightly scorched Slam behind. What did his teammates expect of him? They sent him to gather evidence on his own friend-brother. Evidence to what? To convict Tech? Or maybe to try and clear the coyote, . . . well it didn't work! Tech was the only one who knew the system well enough to so thoroughly hide his tracks. And who was the ingenious coyote supplying information to? And why? Rev sped through the base, going faster than he could safely navigate the corners to outrun the questions plaguing him. He slammed his fists against doors and walls in anger, fear, and frustration as he went.

Ace put a tentative arm around Lexi. Rev was furious with him and the bunny half feared that the rest of his team blamed and resented him for it. The Loonatic leader could see Lexi occasionally wince at the roadrunner's outbursts long after his own ears stopped detecting the disturbances. Lexi cringed again and buried her tears in Ace's chest. His ears lopped. He should have called the team into the virtual trainer to inform them about Tech. At least that way only the holograms would be getting trashed instead of their new headquarters. "Duck, go after him. None of us should be alone at dis time."

Danger Duck hesitated slightly, not sure he really wanted to intrude on the roadrunner's tantrum. Muttering curses at the coyote who created it, Danger flicked on the Quack Finder and quickly homed in on the roadrunner. He was already regretting the invention. It made him too handy a candidate for fetch and carry jobs. He cringed at the memory of the turncoat coyote. Tech was such an integral part of the Loonatics that he would be hard to get out of their lives. Hiding his own upset at losing his genius friend under a callous exterior, Danger groused about being an action hero and not babysitter as he prepared to quack out.

"Ace is correct, Loonatics." A holographic pillar of incandescent light flickered into existence. "None should be alone in times such as these."

"Eh, what's up, Optimatus." Ace gripped his guardian strike sword tight even though he knew he could not harm the holographic image. The Loonatic leader felt his team form up around him. "I doubt yas crawled out from under yer rock just ta say 'Hi.'"

Danger quacked in front of his leader, fire eggs in both hands. The mallard postponed going after Rev. He'd rather face super villains any day of the week! "Hey! This is a private conversation, one-eye. No eavesdroppers allowed."

"Optimatus! hurry, they are breaking through!" A distant bass rumble, light years away from peaceful Blanc, shook the holographic projection. Distorted, Zadavia's voice shouted over the com link. "Have you reached the Loonatics yet?"

"It seems your _heroes_ do not yet trust me, dear sister," Optimatus shouted back. Another tonal disruption hit far away Freleng and the hologram light field distorted yet again. This time plaster dust and bits of ceiling fell through the view as well. Upward flowing tresses tangled and royal gown torn, Zadavia stumbled over to her brother and appeared in the hologram column beside him.

"Loonatics, come quickly." The hologram wavered, then blinked out. "Freleng needs you desperately . . . _**I**_ need you . . .."

Orange Triangle.

A/N See Tech's professor in "The Comet Cometh" when Tech's school project blew, then look at "The Menace of Mastermind" or "The Hunter" when they show the prison warden and you will see the family resemblance.


	4. Chapter 4

Loonatics Unleashed:

"Silent Conspiracy"

(This story is post Season Two – after the cartoon series.)

Rated T for Intrigue.

Disclaimer: Loonatics Unleashed, Duck Dodgers in the 24th and ½ Century, Looney Tunes, and all related Characters and Elements are trademarks of Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Other references, lyrics and quotes belong to their individual artists, authors, copyrights, or trademarks.

The wormhole dropped the Loonatics right below the orbits of the pink and blue banded planet's three moons. The equatorial moon had a contrary orbit, spinning opposite from its sister moons and making wormhole placement tricky. As soon as the Loonatics exited the wormhole, Tweetums back on Blanc closed it down. They would have to call for another for the return trip.

At a signal from Ace, the Loonatics fired up the boosters in their black and signature colors all-environment suits to fall rapidly through the sky to the surface below. Seen only in holographic projection before, Freleng was far grander than the anthromorphs had imagined. Deep within sheer chasms, sparkling seas cut great swaths across the rich, burnt umber ground. Grand Alabaster cities; all spires of marble, sapphire, and gold raised to the dusty rose sky, the bastions of the ancient civilization set as jewels amid the elegant, verdant forests. Golden bridges spanned crag and city to city. And set within the very walls of the canyons themselves, the history of Freleng was written in great gold glyphs that sparkled in the light of the twin suns.

The Loonatics angled their descent towards the great citadel, domed in crystal, where Zadavia's and her brother's thrones sat. Great golden statues depicting warriors of a bygone age stood sentinel from its roof. But as they descended, the illusion of Freleng's peaceful beauty shattered. The streets were filled with the hue and cry of unrest. Rank upon rank of dread techno-forces marched upon the citadel whose dome was already cracked. The massive steel-blue robots each sported an inverted triangle on its chest plate, marking them as Freleng's elite defenders. The Loonatics braced for attack, but the rampant forces ignored the heroes, intent only on reaching the hated monarchy. The five anthropomorphic protectors swooped down to land on the sloped promenade beside four lone figures valiantly defending the citadel. Greetings were brief, and introductions were nonexistent.

Most of the Loonatics didn't know the ebony beauty, tall and slender, standing behind Zadavia and Optimatus; though they immediately recognized the short, cannonball headed Martian beside her. They'd encountered General Melvin before as enemies. Laser fire scattered the heroes and Zadavia cast a wall of prismatic energies from her hands deflecting the barrage away from her Martian guests. Optimatus sent out shafts of pastel lights from his hands to demolish his own rogue robots. Ace signaled his team forward, saving his questions about the royal siblings' choice of allies for a less lethal moment.

Lexi's long, pink ears cocked. Was that music she heard? The bunny stared incredulously out into the city were throngs of protesting Frelengians were treating the riots as if they were no more than a great, outdoor concert. Rings of pink energy walked themselves up her ears so she could better hear, but Ace interrupted, extending his guardian strike sword and leaping to engage the techno-forces that threatened them. The pink hued bunny shut down her super hearing to save them from the clash of battle and, powering up her brain blasts, followed her leader.

Danger Duck launched a set of power eggs at the attacking robotic soldiers scattering the techno-forces like ninepins. He quacked behind two other of the armed forces, ready with more eggs. He was just glad he had come in his Loonatic's uniform and not the Blancian full knight gear that looked more like a jester's outfit than a knight's attire as the royal feather duster had wanted. It still surprised the mallard that Ace had come to his rescue, intervening as leader of the Loonatics and telling the royal pain in the tail that right now he needed Danger Duck of the Loonatics rather than Sir Duck of the Blancian court. Though the yellow tweety bird had been imperiously demanding, the tiny ruler of Blanc had gazed kindly at his Loonatic friends. Danger suspected that Tweetums kept them to familiar routine as the only moral support he could offer them during their crisis. Unable to keep his mind on his task, Danger muttered to himself as he readied to throw his eggs. "With brain power like that, Tech was bound to get into trouble."

The two techno-force robots spun, knocking Danger back into the wall as thoughts of his rogue teammate distracted him. As Danger scraped down the wall, his black environmental suit shed orange bits of reinforcing as well as his shoulder Loonatic patch. Tech had created it to withstand everything from the harsh radiations of space to the crushing pressure of deep sea diving and everything in between. At least the impact didn't crush him.

Rev scowled at Danger's disparaging comment. He had to concede, though, that it might possibly be true. The speedster pulled out a power screwdriver like the one he'd used last time the Loonatics fought the techno-forces when General Deuce was trying to take over Blanc. Rev zipped around small knots of techno-forces unscrewing the bolts from the robots. It didn't help his concentration any to note that he was using the technique that Tech had suggested for disabling the robot attackers. In his distraction, the roadster missed a few spots. One of the robots, having lost its gun arm, picked it up in its other hand and continued firing. "Funny-how-things-change. Optimatus-was-the-enemy-and-now-he's-one-of-the-good-guys;-while-Tech,-who-was-always-so-concerned-about-protecting-people-is-in-prison-as-a-traitor. Funny,-but-not-really. Who's-laughing? Not-me,-that's-for-sure. The-thing-is,-really,-there-is-no-one-out-there-smarter-than-Tech. Someone-might-have-access-to-more-technology-than-him-like-when-we-first-encountered-wormhole-technology,-but-he's-just-plain-brilliant. Tech-always-could-break-into-and/or-do-anything-he-set-his-mind-to. But-that-still-doesn't-mean-he's-a-traitor!"

"I, I guess. And after all, he's only held on suspicion of espionage; and prison isn't that bad, right?" Lexi sounded unsure even to herself. The doe bunny angled her shoulders, using the four pink blade-wings sprouting out of the back of her suit to fly above the battle. Tech had outdone himself in their enviro-suits' design. Unlike their old jet packs, the retractable, knife-like wings allowed for hands-free aerial, spacial, or aquatic navigation. She charged a halo of pink light around her ears and brain blasted a row of techno-forces that escaped Optimatus' light energy attack. "It'll be like Tech taking a vacation from the lab."

"Nngblkkrrn. Gblaa vacation." The skepticism etched deeply in Slam's voice. He saw a one legged techno-force robot swat the distracted girl bunny from the air before toppling over. Lexi landed hard, the slender blade-wings of her suit snapping off as she rolled across the ground. The purple hued Tasmanian devil powered down his tornado maximizer ability and brought up his thunder mode. Twin cyclones spun from his hands, ripping up the mechanical soldiers that threatened to crush the stunned bunny. Of all the Loonatics, Slam seemed to be dealing best with Tech's betrayal. Of course, the Tasmanian devil's usual stress outlet was in his fighting, so it was hard to tell. If anything, coming to grips with his traitorous teammate made the devil more effective than usual.

Having recovered from his own mishap, Danger quacked over to Lexi then quacked her behind Zadavia and set her down beside the Martians. The black and orange mallard snorted. Even though the short Martian was armed, General Melvin only protected his queen from attacks that got through Zadavia's weakening defenses. The Romanesque space warrior did nothing to help with the actual battle. Danger quacked yet again, this time to reappear by a slightly overwhelmed Rev Runner. "Sure, Techy will be back before we even get a chance to miss him."

Rev forced a false smile. It was too late for that. But missing his friend-brother was not the only pressure squeezing his heart. While the roadrunner found no evidence that proved Tech false, what he DIDN'T find was any indication that the coyote genius was innocent. The roadrunner just hoped he wasn't called as a technical expert witness at Tech's trial. Rev avoided a sneak attack by flying out of the way, the flames of the speedster's passing melting the optics of his would be attacker. The roadrunner cut around and landed by his disabled assailant, a puzzled look crossing his face. The speedster placed a feathered hand on the chest unit of the towering robot, his gadgeteer tendencies coming to the fore. "Vibrations? No,-it's-music! I-know-in-the-movies-that-they-use-music-scores-to-set-the-tone-for-the-audience. I-should-know,-I-watch-enough-of-them. But-who-ever-heard-of-real-villains-going-around-playing-their-own-scary-theme-music?!"

"Rev! Watch where you're talking!" Ace snapped the warning even as he curled into a roll to avoid an attacker of his own. The Loonatic leader swiped with his guardian strike sword to cut the feet out from under the mechanical horror.

Rev pulled out his power screwdriver again. With blinding speed, the roadster dismantled the techno-force robot and extracted its radio control unit. So faint that he couldn't really even hear it over the sounds of battle, the thing was definitely vibrating rhythmically. Rev checked his internal GPS for Lexi's location so she could see what was playing, but in doing so he inadvertently made himself a target by remaining still too long.

"Focus, people! We got a job ta do!" Alternating the use of his laser vision and swordsmanship, Ace kept himself and his team from serious injury as he assessed the battle. Though his team was still in one piece, they were making too many mistakes due to distraction. All the Loonatics kept hoping that Tech's betrayal was really some sort of sick joke or bizarre test or just a nightmare that they could all wake up from, but it just didn't end. Failing to heed his own advice, Ace was flung forward from a shot in the back.

Optimatus reflexively caught Ace as the bunny flung into him, his partial bionic implants catching the Loontaic leader with more than natural strength. The tall Frelengian's one non-mechanical brow furrowed as an irritating sensation nagged at the base of his skull. Then the prince continued his light force barrage, but now, his bolts were inexplicably directed against his sister. "Funny, is it not? How someone of my power has need of allies? Or my sister either for that matter. Have you never questioned why someone such as Zadavia, who can survive the ravages of space without protection, who can command the energy of Light to form shields or to blast ships and robots to smithereens would have use of you and your pathetic little powers? Do you not grow tired of being pawns for her to use and discard at her whim? She even makes you wears the Felengian inverted triangle on your uniforms, marking your servitude. She has no real need of you except as pawns for her little political games."

Stunned as much by Optimatus' vicious verbal attack as he was with the Frelengian's power assault, Ace stared a moment in disbelief. Why was Optimatus suddenly attacking Zadavia? And why was he still treating the Loonatics as his friends? It wasn't true that Zadavia thought of them only as pawns. She was their friend. She cared for them. If anyone wasn't to be trusted, it was her older brother. It wasn't until an errant blast crumbled the support of a gigantic statue atop the council building causing it to tumble down on them that Ace snapped back to reality. Extending the four blade-wings of his enviro-suit, the sword wielding bunny shot up to meet the falling statue. Through a series of sword swipes and kicks, he deflected most of it, but not all. "Rev, grab Zadavia! Slam, Duck, get Lexi and da Martians! I got Optimatus."

Danger quacked over to the threesome, pausing to strike a heroic stance as he came to the rescue. His delay gave Slam all the chance he needed to scoop up Lexi and spin through the crystal doors into the council chamber. Annoyance etched the mallard's face until he caught his first good look at the exotic, Egyptian-esque beauty of Queen Tyrr'henia.

"Hummina, hummina, hummina!" Dazzled into speechlessness, Danger nonetheless managed to scoop up the tall Martian queen in his arms as rubble from the falling statue cascaded around them. He quacked her to safety, leaving Melvin to fight his own way into the citadel. Danger set the queen gently on her feet, gazing up into her luminous violet eyes as he did so. "Your life has just been officially saved, fair lady, by Danger Duck!"

Zadavia didn't notice the debris raining down on her. Neither did she notice Rev tugging at her arm nor hear the anthropomorphic roadrunner urging her to safety. Her gem green eyes were locked onto her hated brother, her only thought for his destruction. A chunk of alabaster fell, cutting the Frelengian princess' cheek, but she paid it no mind. All her will, all her focus was in shooting out streams of deadly Light from her hands.

"Meaning-no-disrespect,-Zadavia,-but-this-is-just-plain-nuts! We-have-to-get-outta-here! I-mean-I'd-totally-understand-if-you-hated-your-brother-for-betraying-you. Though-maybe-not-really-since-Tech-betrayed-us-all-and-it-hurts-like-crazy-but-I-don't-exactly-hate-him. Though-I-sure-am-going-to-kick-his-tail-if-I-ever-catch-up-to-him-so-maybe-I-do-understand-but-just-moments-ago-you-and-Optimatus-were-both-on-the-same . . .-whoa!" The black and red clad roadrunner dashed against the princess carrying both of them out from under the falling statue. The golden scythe from the warrior statue of a-time-gone-by clanged to the ground, its curved blade impaling the walkway where they stood just moments before. Larger pieces of crushed marble and masonry continued to pummel the promenade. Without stopping, Rev scooped up the domed headpiece from one of the dismantled techno-force robots and plopped it, helmet-like, on Zadavia's head to shield her from the falling rock. "Am-I-glad-you-decided-not-to-blast-me-for-interfering,-even-though-you-looked-like-you . . .."

"What?" Zadavia's mind cleared as the irritating hum in the back of her skull subsided . She shuddered as she forced herself to think logically through the irrational hate coursing through her. It took a concentrated effort but she managed to squelch the nagging. "Why am I fighting my brother?"

Seeing Rev's success with Zadavia, Ace scrounged a second head plate from the pile of scrap robots. The bunny jumped into the air, performing a flip as he plunked it on the tall man's head. Then he proceeded to calm down Freleng's ruler. At least the ruling siblings' little spat had cleared the promenade of the techno-forces. Ace led Optimatus inside to the others.

Zadavia couldn't see a thing due to Rev's speed, but she felt secure cradled in the roadster's arms. The Frelengian princess saw her rescuer rapidly blink his eyes to clear them of the emotion welling up in them at the mention of fighting one's brother. Zadavia's own memory drew back to the time when she had taken Tech as her 'plus one' to the Cosmic Abyss concert. She'd just learned that he was trying to get out of the lab more and thought it an excellent way to help him in his social undertakings. A sob shook her. Though being so much taller than the anthropomorphic roadrunner made it awkward, Zadavia lowered her head to bury it in his shoulder. She knew that Tech would be found guilty. Her own testimony would condemn him. Zadavia's tears joined those of the avian streaming back into thin shreds of vapor as they shattered on his supersonic jet stream. Zadavia murmured words of self-condemnation, but she couldn't hear herself through the helmet on her head. "I wouldn't blame you for not liking me very much right now. I don't like me very much either."

Rev ran several laps around the citadel. Ostentatiously to check for stray techno-forces, but in reality giving them both a chance to reign in their raging emotions before joining the others in the main audience chamber. The high ceilinged audience chamber sported stone arches covered in ancient runes. Majestic statues depicting a long line of Felengian protectors, complete with guardian strike swords, lined the hall. The royal Frelengian symbol of an inverted triangle was portrayed prominently over the twin thrones. Zadavia reached up to remove her makeshift helmet, but hesitated at seeing the others' frantic gestures. She frowned. The helmet must be well insulated. She couldn't hear a thing.

After a brief consultation with the others, Rev ripped off his wrist communicator, and faster than sight, inserted it within Zadavia's helmet. He had the helmet off and replaced before she could go ballistic on them again. He then did the same thing to Optimatus' helmet with Slam's communicator. It wasn't an elegant solution, but it worked. "Apparently-while-they-were-waiting-for-us,-Optimatus-took-off-his-helmet-and-started-going-nuts-again-so-whatever-is-causing-the-riots-must-still-be-out-there. So-it's-better-that-you-keep-your-helmet-on-to-insulate-you-from-it. And-the-communicators-will-let-you-hear-what's-going-on-as-long-as-Ace-or-Lexi-or-Duck-has-theirs-open. I-can-do-without-my-communicator-because-I-can-use-my-internal-GPS-to-track-my-teammates-and-Slam-is-tough-enough-to-survive-almost-anything-even-if-he-gets-separated-from-the-rest-of-us."

"T'anks, Rev, for da explanation," Ace cut in. "Now could ya hush fer just a moment an' let me t'ink?"

"Of-course,-Ace,-you-know-me,-I'm-never-one-to-keep-talking-when-asked-to-shush. I-know-some-people-never-know-when-to-keep-their-beaks-shut,-but-not . . .." Rev's words were suddenly muffled by a yellow furred hand gripping his beak closed. Annoyance etched the roadrunner's face, but he fell silent.

Ace's contemplation was interrupted again. This time by the rich, melodious voice of the Martian queen.

"Danger, is it?" Tyrr'henia ran her dark fingers through the shorter mallard's equally black unruly feathers that spiked up on top of his head. She was most impressed with the handsome Loonatic's rescue. Teleporting, quacking as he called it, had been . . . exhilarating.

"Actually it's Danger Duck. But you may call me Duck." Danger leaned forward, ignoring the daggers that Melvin the Martian was glaring at him. The mallard lowered his voice flirtatiously. "All my friends do."

"Duck, then." Though the queen had no visible mouth with which to smile, Tyrr'henia's eyes sparkled. "I have noticed that here on Freleng, only the ruling monarchy have super powers . . . as is proper. Might does make right, after all. But you are most impressive with your spectacular powers. You, perhaps, should be royalty as well."

Danger nearly melted on the spot when Tyrr'henia trickled her fingers down the side of his face to trace around the edge of his beak. He seemed to be having a hard time breathing. He lightly cleared his throat. "Yes, well, with ducks' natural rugged good looks, we do possess a certain nobility."

"That is quite enough, Duck." Zadavia scowled, not at all pleased with the Martian queen's interest in one of her Loonatics . . . even if it was Danger Duck. Neither was she pleased with Tyrr'henia's insinuations that she and her brother used their powers for dominion. Indeed, the Frelengian princess wasn't pleased that the Martian queen invited herself to Freleng for a visit at all, but she couldn't refuse the royal visit without causing insult. She and Optimatus had just agreed to allow Queen Tyrr'henia and her one officer to come down, when out of nowhere, massive descent gripped the entire planet. The Frelengian people revolted, holding massive protests and riots, while the military openly rebelled. Zadavia would have accused the Martians of involvement except for the fact that Queen Tyrr'henia was in just as much danger as she and Optimatus were. Even the Martian flagship was currently in orbit around the far side of the planet and was unable to come to their assistance.

Ace looked briefly around the august assemblage of royalty before him, but decided that proper court protocol was beyond him. "Eh, so Zadavia, whose out dere trying ta rain on yer reign?"

"That is the odd thing, Ace. It's been utter chaos. No leader has stepped forward. There have been no demands, no reviling against the laws, not even any complaints about our leadership or policies." Zadavia's beautiful green eyes clouded with sadness . . . and with a touch of something else. Agitation? Fear? . . . Guilt? Her thoughts drew unwillingly to the coyote she'd helped to imprison. "Just chants of hate against my brother and myself."

"Nngbl ppptttt kkrrn the robots?" Slam asked.

Optimatus brushed a long strand of violet hair from his bionic eye and studied the Loonatics nodding agreement with their brutish teammate. Though they seemed to understand the purple Tasmanian devil, he'd only caught the word 'robot' in all that garbled mess. Still, it was fairly obvious what the anthromorph meant. His words sounded odd coming over the communicator in his makeshift helmet. "Members of the Frelengian High Council attacked us in the audience chamber. We barely had time to contact you before they brought the roof down on us with some sort of sonic weapon. Apparently, when we escaped to the promenade, the minister of defense overrode the control of my techno-forces and sent them after us. The last I saw of the council, they were heading into the city to join the riots."

"Hmm. Sonic attack . . . not all that uncommon in some parts of the cosmos." Melvin placed a hand to his non-existent chin, his military training automatically coming to the fore. "Of course, I found it most effective against the Chiroptera people of Chiroptia and the Delphinidae people of Cetacean IV."

"Enough, General Melvin." Though queen Tyrr'henia's voice held imperial command, the gentle hand on his shoulder spoke volumes. The Martian queen breezed through the faux pas. "Pardon the General's indiscretion, my dear Frelengians. He is perhaps a bit too . . . enthusiastic . . . in his work."

"Sound, eh?" Ace turned to his team as his suspicions firmed in his mind. They had encountered a musical villain once before. He took the radio control module that Rev had taken from one of the attacking robots and handed it to the pink bunny beside him. "Lexi, see what you can hear."

The control unit had no speakers, but with as much as it was vibrating, it didn't need any. Pink nimbus rings of energy walked up Lexi's ears and the vibrations resolved themselves into the tune that the Keyboard Man had tried to turn into Freleng's national anthem. The overly pompous music wasn't the only thing she heard. "Ace! It's Rupes Oberon! He's embedded subliminal messages into the song. One is of discontent of Zadavia and Optimatus. The other is in his own praise as a musician."

"A-subliminal-message-is-a-signal-embedded-in-another-medium,-like-sound,-designed-to-pass-below-the-normal-limits-of-the-mind's-perception. In-certain-situations,-these-messages-can-negatively-or-positively-influence-subsequent-later-thoughts,-behaviors,-actions,-attitudes,-belief-systems-and-value-systems." Rev volunteered the information. "Though-in-this-case-I'd-definitely-say-it-was-a-negative-influence."

"Just as I thought." A grim smile etched Ace's face. "And dat egomaniac just couldn't resist putting in a plug for himself in da subliminal codes along with da hate message of Zadavia and Optimatus. He must be piping it out all over Freleng ta turn yer people against yas!"

"Nngbl kkrrn not affected." Slam looked around, but there was no Tech to consult.

"Good point, Slam. How come only Zadavia and Optimatus freaked out and not any of the rest of us?" Danger asked.

"Well, obviously as Martians, we are not so easily swayed by sub-aural messaging." Melvin smirked at some private joke. "No ears, you see. As for these others," and here Melvin turned a disapproving eye on the Loonatics, particularly Danger Duck, "I seriously doubt that any of them are high enough on the evolutionary scale. One must have a mind in order for mind games to be effective."

"Hey!" Danger protested.

Zadavia placed a calming hand on the mallard's shoulder. "It is because you are not native Frelengians and therefore your physical make-up is just enough different that it's not affecting you."

Optimatus shook his head, still contemplating the logistics of the feat. "But it's impossible to achieve worldwide coverage. Not only would Rupes need access to a universal code chip, but he would require colossal power . . . like what Zadavia or I have."

"Well, if the shoe fits, Optima-potato," Danger folded his arms across his chest. "No matter what Zadavia says, once a traitor, always a traitor."

"And that's not all," Zadavia inserted herself between Danger and her brother before the two could start their own private little war. "We do have power grids large enough here on Freleng, but Rupes would also have to have a way of channeling it into the primary entertainment lines."

"Eh, Zadavia?" Ace had a nasty thought. Channeling high levels of power was exactly what Rupes Oberon had achieved earlier when he'd stolen Zadavia's powers. "Where is da cosmic guitar?"

Zadavia's already pale complexion blanched. How could she have forgotten the guitar that Rupes forced Tech to create when the Keyboard Man turned to evil in jealousy!? "It's in evidence lockup with the mannequins and other instruments confiscated from Rupes Oberon."

"Well, I bet buttons to quasarliniums that it ain't there now." Danger planted his fists on his hips and glared at Optimatus. "That was real smart. What kind of idiot locks an all powerful instrument in with an evil band?"

"MY kind of idiocy, Duck." Annoyed, a flush replaced Zadavia's pallor. She had put them together, not considering them a threat.

"Oh, uh. Heh, heh," Danger stammered. "Honest mistake. Anyone could have done that."

"Of course." Queen Tyrr'henia agreed soothingly. "But know, my dear prince and princess, the Martians stand ready to bring order again to your lovely kingdom."

" T'anks, but not necessary, queenie." Ace flashed Zadavia a reassuring smile. "I t'ink I just figured out da problem."

"Oh, darn. I had so been looking forward to bringing Freleng under Martian Martial Law." Disappointment shone in Melvin's eyes. The general was tired of political games, he longed to just swoop in with his battleships and take over.

Frowning severely at the small cannonball headed alien, Zadavia turned to her heroes. "I'm afraid that simply stopping Rupes might not be enough. Optimatus and I were under the subliminal messages' influence only briefly, and I am still struggling against its conditioning. The rest of Freleng has been subjected to his musical mayhem for many hours. I fear lest the damage done is irreparable."

Lexi place a comforting hand on the princess' arm. She stole a suspicious glance at the Martians. Such social upheaval could easily play into the queen's and her general's hands. "Don't worry, Zadavia. We'll come up with something."

Pink Triangle.


	5. Chapter 5

Loonatics Unleashed:

"Silent Conspiracy"

(This story is post Season Two – after the cartoon series.)

Rated T for Intrigue.

Disclaimer: Loonatics Unleashed, Duck Dodgers in the 24th and ½ Century, Looney Tunes, and all related Characters and Elements are trademarks of Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Other references, lyrics and quotes belong to their individual artists, authors, copyrights, or trademarks.

The Loonatics landed in the courtyard of an isolated, column-like building on the outskirts of Freleng's capital city. Between Lexi's hearing and Rev's internal GPS, they had easily found the culprits' base of operation.

"Thank you, Slam." Lexi smiled at the purple hued Tasmanian devil as he set her on her feet. Since her enviro-suit's blade wings were damaged in the fight against Freleng's rogue techno-forces, she had needed to hitch a ride to the scene of the crime. The bunny brushed at the pink inverted triangle on the front of her enviro-suit and glanced over to see a slightly jealous look on Ace's face. She smirked. Maybe next time their fearless leader would abandon practicality in favor of personal preference.

"Gblaagblchrrhhng, no biggie." Being the strongman of the group made Slam the logical choice for bringing Lexi with him. He'd hardly felt the bunny's weight.

Squat in comparison to the elegant spired buildings of the city, the power grid complex looked strangely familiar. It wasn't until the Loonatics entered the main, circular and domed core chamber, however, that the similarity to Acemtropolis' power plants became apparent. In the center of the room, the main power core pulsed with steady, cool blue electric rings running up and down it. The double coned core was encircled with a quartet of solenoids, the short, globe topped columns periodically reversing the current to keep it steady. Access panels and control stations clustered round the periphery of the chamber. Three deactivated mannequins marked it as the right place.

"Man,-but-this-is-freaky-how-similar-the-power-core-is-to-the-one-back-at-Acmetropolis-where-we-fought-those-ice-techno-vikings-back-when-we-first-became-heroes. Not-to-mention-the-secondary-power-plant-were-the-music-villain-held-Zadavia-when-stealing-her-powers." Rev glanced quickly around the domed room, assessing their potential battleground. "But-really,-what-do-you-think-the-chances-are-for-simultaneous-advancement-on-two-separate-worlds? Likely-one-got-it-from-the-other. It-must-have-happened-before-the-meteor-struck-giving-us-all-powers-since-both-that-power-grid-and-this-one-by-the-looks-of-it-have-been-around-for-a-long-time. But-is-it-Freleng-technology-loaned-to-Acmetropolis-or-Acmetropolis-technology-loaned-to-Freleng? Tech-would-know . . .."

Rev's rapid speech faltered even before any of his teammates could clamp his beak shut. Thoughts of his coyote friend-brother stabbed pain through the speedster's heart.

Seeing the roadrunner's wide, haunted eyes, Ace placed a comforting hand on his teammate's thin shoulder. "Eh, maybe it'd be better if we didn't mention Tech anymore, Rev. It's only hurtin' da team."

"Tech-wouldn't-hurt-anyone!" Suddenly angry, Rev jerked away from his leader's touch. Then his shoulders slumped. ". . . at-least-not-before-his-betrayal."

The other Loonatics looked sharply at the suddenly dejected roadster, surprised that Rev so readily accepted Tech's guilt. They were still struggling with denial themselves. The red toned roadrunner met his teammates' stare for only a moment before dropping his gaze. "I-talked-with-Zadavia. Tech-was-definitely-dealing-in-restricted,-top-secret-information."

Rupes Oberon stepped from behind the power core, oblivious to shattering the solemnity plaguing the Loontatics. With his jagged mop of white hair, severe goatee, and royal blue, tailored long-tailed jacket over a black body suit; the music villain looked much like he had the last time the action heroes encountered him. Rupes struck a chord on the portable keyboard hanging from a thick strap around his neck to activate his puppet band. "Welcome, Loonatics . . . to my encore performance!"

"Ba-a-aby! I am the Bootes!" Complete with red, star-spangled bellbottom pants, vest, and tophat, the dark complected lead singer of the band bopped to his feet, running his fingers over the strings of his double necked guitar. Light from the harsh glare of the power grid glinted off his gold bangles as the mannequin ran through its boot up routine. The music note eyes lit up and his star-shaped glasses slid down over them masking the fact that Bootes Belinda was nothing more than a sophisticated mechanical man. Wormbrain in his blue work shirt and purple coveralls, his platinum hair hanging down past his oval shades; and T-Bone sporting his blond mohawk and clad in his yellow and green space academy outfit, reactivated at the same time. "And this is my crew. But seeing you Loonatics crash our gig has thrown me off my groove! So, I'm going to have to start tonight's jam session with your good-bye song."

Bootes struck a power cord just as Wormbrain played a searing riff on his lightening bolt motif transonic lead guitar. T-bone joined in on his power amplifier drum set. The musical puppets sent out waves of discord that seemed to echo around the energy chamber a few moments before slamming the Loonatics back with an all too solid wall of sound.

The Loonatics struggled from under the collapsed panels of machinery that buried them. Choking on the ensuing dust while avoiding sparking, broken connections, Ace stumbled to his feet only to be slammed back once again by an encore. "Eh, what's up, docs? Ya get power boost upgrades since yer last performance?"

"Simple, Baby. Me an' my crew just wail out a little disharmony to the old juice box there, where the sound takes the tour of the plasma core, pickin' up power on the rebound just like a high impact resonance chamber." Bootes brought two fingers to his lips and threw a kiss to the Loonatics. "And then the superb acoustic design of this core chamber sends it directly to you. Ya just gotta love Frelengian architecture that makes something both beautiful and deadly functional!"

"Huh?" Rupes' angular face took on a completely dumbfounded look. Bootes and the band MUST have gotten upgrades. Then he shrugged. The mannequins did well. And sound blasting the Loonatics only made his victory over Zadavia and Optimatus more complete.

"Whatever." Danger quacked out from the rubble and waved off the techno-babble as even more boring than Rev's explanations tended to be. The mallard formed a couple of fire eggs to throw at the musical menaces, but they were shot down by the band's music. At least with the puppets shooting at his eggs, they weren't shooting at the team. "Still too bubblegum for me."

Finally extracting himself from the rubble, Rev dashed through the room. He couldn't even hope to calculate where the sine waves converged. Tech could have calculated precisely where the harmonic disturbances collided and canceled each other out, and probably then expand the sound cancellation to the whole room. Unfortunately all the roadrunner could do was run around the room noting the safe spots and hoping the rest didn't tear him apart. With little bursts of speed that left scorch marks, the speedster marked where his teammates could safely stand.

"C'mon band, pick up da beat!" When Bootes caught on to Rev's plan, he struck a discord. "An' knock that fowl right off his feet!"

Rupes grinned and indiscriminately struck a chord joining his band. Sound waves of destruction rippled out to impact all in its path. The smile was wiped off his face when Wormbrain leaped over and slapped a mechanical hand against the musical villain's portable keyboard, knocking it aside.

"Whoa, baby. Let's not to be damaging the goods here!" Bootes sang out as the maniacal mannequin continued his own musical assault.

"Oh ho! This is new. The villains trying to prevent property damage. Let's see how you like a double helping of eggs . . . sunny side up!" Danger wound up with a double fistful of power eggs and launched them at the power plant's main control panel. The mallard was amused to see Wormbrain leap into their path to take the hits himself rather than damage the equipment. Unfortunately for the musical mannequin the force of Danger's eggs blasted him back onto the control panel himself. Blue white energy sparked and a good portion of the maninkin's platinum hair singed. Unfortunately the mannequin still functioned.

"Eh, ya might wanna go easy on da collateral damage dere, Duck." Ace dove into a roll along one of Rev's scorch marks to avoid a barrage of destructive sound packets from T-bone's deadly drumming. "We don't wanna blow dis Popsicle stand with us inside."

"And everything in the quadrant." Lexi did a forward flip toward Bootes, but was beaten back by a counter melody.

"Not-to-mention-that-we-might-need-the-equipment-to-undo-the-subliminal-mind-control." Rev staggered through an area of sound turbulence before finding another safe zone.

"Gblaarrhhng, yeah." Slam didn't bother with the safe zones that Rev blazed, but rather opted to spin through the room in thunder mode intercepting what musical assaults he could to protect his teammates. Even with his tornado maximizer ability, the devil couldn't break through the sound barrier protecting the puppets.

"All right, already." Danger wound up with a couple of orange juice eggs and launched them at Wormbrain to try to short circuit the damaged automation. The eggs splatted harmlessly against the wall of music surrounding the puppet. "Sheesh. can't a guy have a little fun while taking out the trash?"

A sneer twisted the Keyboard Man's sharp features. Rupes cranked up the amps on his electronic keyboard and played through a complicated little scale, not caring if there was collateral damage or not. His only goal was ruining Zadavia and Optimatus, and taking down the Loonatics.

"Uh,uh,uh, Band Leader man! That's not the way this gig's going down." Bootes set up a counter melody from his two necked guitar, canceling out the Keyboard Man's attack.

"No! You can't betray me! You are mine! I order you to attack!" Concern beaded Rupes' brows. He never really had a solid grasp on technology, but an ugly truth was starting to dawn on him. "I thought residual cosmic energy reanimated my band and they freed me."

"You-might-be-a-musical-genius,-but-man-you-really-don't-understand-the-technology-behind-your-own-mannequins-let-alone-the-comic-guitar. Of-course-if-you-did,-then-you-wouldn't-have-had-to-make-Tech-create-it-for-you-in-the-first-place. Even-if-there-was-any-of-Zadavia's-power-left-in-the-guitar,-which-there-wasn't-since-she-took-it-all-back,-there-is-no-way-it-could-animate-your-band-without-a-guiding-intelligence." Rev didn't even pause to take a breath. "More-likely,-someone-has-reprogrammed-the-mannequins-to-bring-down-Zadavia-and-Optimatus'-reign."

"What?! When I find who is using me! . . ." Rupes confusion and threats were cut short. A concerted effort from his band of puppets knocked him against the wall and he sank, dazed, to the floor.

"Oops. Looks like we done just made our little quartet into a trio." Bootes Belinda's voice thickened with mock concern. His overly wide smile returned and the stage lights glinted off his star shaped glasses. "I want you all to get funking, baby. Hit me!"

"Well, since you insist." Ace sprung forward leading with his guardian strike sword toward Bootes Belinda and his Def Wat Rubber Ball Band. The yellow tinted bunny sliced through the lead singer's double necked guitar, cutting it neatly in half, then followed up with a solid kick to the midsection that quite literally knocked the stuffing out of the mannequin. The tonal distortions in the room dropped drastically. "Dat's it, Loonatics! All der power is in da instruments. Time ta stop da music."

The Loonatics sprang into action. Between Rev's safe zones and Ace's targeting commands, the Guardians of the Universe soon took the musical mayhem off the air. Having no offensive capabilities of their own, the puppets just stood there once their instruments were destroyed, as if awaiting further orders.

"Too bad we didn't have the Sine Wave Cancellation Reverberator. It would have made this all much easier." It was small consolation to Danger that he actually got the overcomplicated name of Tech's sound refracting device correct. Recovering from getting musically slammed, the mallard occupied himself by quacking over to Rupes and cuffing him before he could recover from his musical mishap and escape.

Ace flicked on his wrist communicator and called Zadavia; the Frelengian princess still had Rev's communicator. "Ace ta Zadavia, we got da musical menace under control. How are t'ings at your end?"

"No change I'm afraid, Ace." Stress was evident in Zadavia's voice. "The Martians, Optimatus, and I closed down all the entertainment lines, but the techno-force control unit that Rev recovered is still vibrating. The signal must still be out there. And to make matters worse, we're pinned down here by the riots. We can't move without harming our citizens."

"Okay, Zadavia, youse guys hang tight where ya are an' let us check out a few t'ings." Ace drew a deep breath. He knew Zadavia and her brother wouldn't like what he had to say next, but he had to warn them anyway. "Zadavia, Optimatus, youse two otta prepare ta abandon da planet in case we can't get this t'ing under control. I'll keep ya informed. Ace out."

Ace clicked off his communicator before Freleng's royalty could argue with him. As much as he hated the thought himself, the subliminal messages were only against the ruling siblings. Remove them, and the riots should settle. Ace looked around at his Loonatics. "Ideas, anyone?"

"Rrhhng kkrrn other way?" Slam suggested.

Ace pause for a beat, then amended. "Useful ideas."

"Well, we could power down all the generators. Without power, surely whatever is causing this would run down too." Lexi ran her hands through her ears, tugging on the green ribbon that she tied them with as she thought.

"Ever hear of backup generators? And batteries." Danger's snide voice cut in.

"Yeah, I don't know dat we could blackout da entire world." As a general rule, Ace didn't like to side with the duck; Danger's ego was big enough as it was.

"Black Velvet almost did, maybe we . . .." Danger ventured a suggestion of his own.

"Not useful, Duck, even Black Velvet needed Tech to build her shadow caster." Despite the seriousness of the situation a tiny smirk twitched the corner of Lexi's mouth as she countered Danger's suggestion.

Ace hated to put added pressure on his swift teammate, but he needed answers. He looked up to see Rev pacing in a circle so fast that he was wearing a groove in the tiles. Oddly enough, Slam was standing in the middle watching Rev orbit around him much as the devil did when watching the roadrunner play a game of air hockey with himself. "Eh, Rev . . .."

"We-stopped-the-music-man,-but-it-didn't-stop-the-subliminal-messages,-but-it-would-have-had-to-stop-because-once-the-source-of--vibrations-is-gone,-the-reverberations-fade. Think-think-think-think-Oh!"

"Ya got something dere, Rev?" Ace's ears perked up at Rev's ramblings.

"No,-nix,-nadda,-nothing. But-nothing-is-exactly-what-we-got!" the hyper fowl exclaimed excitedly. Rev looked up to see dumb stares all around. "Don't-you-see? What-we-don't-have-is-subliminal-messages. I-should-have-realized-right-off-that-subliminals-don't-have-the-power-to-mind-control-a-whole-planet. Whatever-it-is,-its-much-more-potent. Instant-conditioning. Even-Zadavia-was-affected-instantly-by-it,-and-she-is-not-weak-minded."

"Makes sense. I shoulda figured dat Oberon wasn't da real threat here. He was just a red herring ta throw us off da track. Still, we gotta be close. Ya don't mind control a whole planet without a lotta energy." Ace pondered the situation a bit. "Okay. So we don't got subliminal messages. What do we got?"

"I-don't-know. Tech-would-know. I-don't-know-how-could-I-know! My-pop's-a-gadget-salesman-and-I-only-make-toys-and-I-even-need-help-with-that!" Rev's volume increased until he was nearly shouting in hysterics. "We-need-Tech!"

"Tech is likely the one who caused all this!" Ace quietly reminded.

"Okay,-this-is-ridiculous! No-more. No-more! No-More!! This-ends-right-now." Rev forced his rampant thoughts to settle. Every time he encountered anything technical or scientific, he was reminded of Tech. But every time he was, the speedster focused on something else to ease the sting of betrayal. As long as the gadgeteer squelched all thoughts of the coyote, he squelched all scientific thoughts as well and he couldn't come up with the solution. Rev's features firmed. He could not let Tech harm him or the team any longer. Despite what the coyote might have done, Tech was still his friend and trying to deny that wouldn't help any of them. The Loonatics watched, startled as the red hued avian came to an abrupt stop before them with an almost accusatory stare. "We're-missing-something-here,-what-is-it? We-have-the-mannequins,-we-have-Oberon,-we-have-a-massive-power-core. What-don't-we-have?"

"Kkrrn cosmic guitar?" Slam ventured.

"Hey, dat's right. Good goin' dere, Slam!" Ace's yellow ears shot straight up. How could he have forgotten the guitar that had caused so much trouble with Zadavia's powers? "All righty, gang lets find dat musical monstrosity."

The Loonatics looked around the core chamber then Lexi pointed to the top support band of the core itself. The pink bunny had been hearing a musical pulse the entire time the Loonatics had been on Freleng. She had discounted it as a peculiarity of the planet, though now she wondered.

"The-cosmic-guitar . . .." Stunned by the revelation, Rev stopped short again. ". . . hooked-into-the-biggest-power-source-on-Freleng . . . that-is . . . brilliant! Horrible,-terrible,-and-totally-evil,-mind-you,-but-it-is-brilliant. Instead-of-the-planetary-power-core-energizing-the-guitar,-the-guitar-is-manipulating-the-energy-for-the-planet. If-you-remember,-Tech-made-the-cosmic-guitar-based-on-the-string-theory-of-everything. The-string-theory-suggests-that-there-are-eleven-dimensions-in-spacetime. There-are-the-three-standard-ones-that-we-all-know-and-deal-with-everyday,-height,-width,-and-depth. And-also-there's-the-fourth-dimension-of-time-as-proven-by-Dr.-Chroniker-and-his-grandson-Timeskip. But-that-leaves-seven-whole-dimensions-that-we-know-very-little-about. In-fact,-Tech-was-developing-a-theory-that-our-super-powers-from-the-meteor-altered-our-physiology-in-such-a-way-that-we-could-interact-with-and-manipulate-certain-of-these-dimensions."

Ace sighed, soon lost in all the technical jargon as Rev used the example of Danger teleporting by altering his subatomic structure to become more compatible with the holographic nature of the cosmoverse or some such. But the bunny didn't dare interrupt Rev as the speedster at least seemed to know what he was talking about. He didn't want to derail the fleet footed fowl's train of thought.

Rev finally took a breath and Danger cut in before the roadster could start up again. "Wait a minute. Are you saying that there is a psychic dimension that someone is manipulating with a guitar to mind control everyone on Freleng? And in order to fix it we have to re-harmonize the universe. Yeah, right. Get crucial."

"Uh . . .. Yes? . . . maybe?" Rev fidgeted nervously. When put that way it did sound ludicrous. Why was it that whenever Tech suggested a theory everyone listened no matter how outlandish it sounded. Yet when he did, everyone looked at him like he'd grown a third arm. "Hey-look,-guys,-I-really-have-no-clue,-but-we-have-a-cosmic-guitar-that-latches-into-cosmic-superstrings. It's-worth-a-shot."

Not getting Ace's go-ahead, but also not getting vetoed, Rev zipped around the core chamber, tightening a few loose connections and rerouting the controls from the damaged main panel to a subsidiary control station. "Redundancy-systems,-you-gotta-love-them! Now-to-rewire-the-cosmic-guitar;-a-little-adjustment-here,-a-tweak-there,-tune-it-up-a-bit,-insert-plug-A-into-port-B,-and . . . and . . .."

"Rrhhng kkrrn other way?" Slam and Rev stared at each other in silence for a moment. Both times when they dealt with Adolpho's mind control and with Otto the Odd's sound manipulation in the past, Tech had them 'spin the other way.'

"Okay,-third-time's-the-charm. We-spin-the-other-way!" Rev announced. The roadrunner and the Tasmanian devil circled the core in a purple and a red blur, blowing back debris and generating a fair amount of static electricity. The excess energy started sparking around the cosmic guitar.

"Hey!" Lexi exclaimed. A happy smile lit the bunny's face as the sub-aural discord smoothed. "Something's happening!"

"Oh yeah! Da spin doctors are in da house!" Reversing subliminal messages or untangling cosmic stings, Ace was just glad it seemed to be working.

"Congratulations, Loonatics." Having heard everything over Rev's and Slam's communicators, Zadavia and Optimatus arrived on the scene to the cheering of their subjects. 'Spinning the music the other way' to undo the discontent had brought the ruling siblings back into the Frelengian's affections as instantly as the disharmony had damaged it. The only real problem they had now would be keeping the mob from lynching Oberon, whom they now despised as fervently as they had the siblings. "It is certainly good to hear from the good people of Freleng once again. And well done, Rev. Your solution to reverse the messages' effects was truly inspired."

"Yeah,-by-Tech."

Rev's reply was so swift and soft that only Lexi caught it. The pink hued bunny placed a hand on Ace's arm, drawing the Loonatic leader's attention to the suffering roadrunner. Even though the roadster had determined that Tech's betrayal would no longer harm him, it obviously still hurt. Ace watched as Rev disconnected the cosmic guitar from the power core and slung the musical instrument across his back. The speedster likely claimed the instrument because Tech made it, but the roadrunner had used the guitar to reverse the mind control effects, so the yellow bunny didn't challenged Rev about it. Leaving Optimatus to call in the law enforcers, Ace walked over to place a supportive hand on his teammate's shoulder. "Eh, Rev, remember what I said about not mentioning Tech no more? Ferget it. Ignoring da problem won't make it go away. And talking about da betrayal just might help all of us ta move on. We'll pull each other through dis."

"You're making a big mistake, Loonatics!" Rupes Oberon yelled at the assembled anthromorphs as Optimatus' techno-forces, once again under the planetary leader's control, led the Keyboard Man away. "On Freleng, all the power is in the rulers. Only two rulers, not even in the ruling class. The High Council members have no powers. Deuce had no powers. Only Zadavia and Optimatus have their Light Force abilities, ruling from on high! There are no checks and balances. You've just condemned Freleng to a complete dictatorship!"

As the robots removed Rupes from the premises, he screamed back one final question. "Ask yourselves, Loonatics, who watches the watchers?!"

"We do," Ace calmly replied. As Guardians of the Universe, he knew his Loonatics would not shirk their responsibility to safeguard the cosmos no matter who threatened it. Even if it was one of their own. Ace stared after Oberon, but decided that the sap had no useful information. He turned to face the lead singer puppet. "Okay, Bootes baby, time ta spill da beans!"

"Oooooh Ba-a-aby! The lead singer's gonna sound off key about this!" Then the trio of mannequins' glasses all slid up to reveal the light fading from their music note eyes as they went off-line.

Ace ordered Rev in to see if the roadrunner could reactivate the mannequins, but the puppets started spewing smoke from their joints and music note eyes as they self-destructed. There would be no forthcoming answers from them. Perhaps if Tech . . . but no, his expertise was lost to them. It was likely the coyote's expertise that caused it! Whoever this boss was, all bases were covered. It was just a good thing that Oberon's vanity screwed it up.

"I find it difficult to believe that Rupes Oberon is really smart enough to calculate the exact frequencies needed to affect Frelengians, but no one else." Zadavia's face was a study in indignation and concern. Rupes' accusations bothered the Frelengian princess more than she would have supposed. True, the Light Powers only resided in the royalty, but that was just the way Freleng worked.

Ace turned to Zadavia. "Sounds like a conspiracy ta puts youse two outta office. But who's da 'boss?'"

"I think we all know who this 'lead singer' is." Optimatus' deep, solemn voice undermined the conversation. Freleng's prince narrowed his one good eye. He'd have to consult with the only other military strategist he knew. Though they'd had their differences in the past, General Melvin was proving a reliable comrade, even a kindred spirit of sorts. "The coyote must have had this subterfuge planned before we took him."

Slam grunted, unconvinced. His fellow predator would not have forgotten to take the Loonatics into account. Tech was brilliant enough to think of all the contingencies and patient enough to see them all to their conclusions. But who else was there capable of such a plot? As they prepared for the return journey to planet Blanc, a solemnity plagued the Loonatics that had nothing to do with the bad music.

Tech's trial hadn't even started, yet the verdict was already in.

Purple Triangle.


	6. Chapter 6

Loonatics Unleashed:

"Silent Conspiracy"

(This story is post Season Two – after the cartoon series.)

Rated T for Intrigue.

Disclaimer: Loonatics Unleashed, Duck Dodgers in the 24th and ½ Century, Looney Tunes, and all related Characters and Elements are trademarks of Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Other references, lyrics and quotes belong to their individual artists, authors, copyrights, or trademarks.

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The agonized howl ended in a strangled squawk as the guard viciously yanked the choke chain around the canid's throat. Sypher winced. Despite his best efforts, the powers-siphon villain was unable to ignore what was happening right outside his cell. He ran a hand through his red and yellow upward spiked hair.

The unspoken 'inmate code' of conduct in the high security wing of the penitentiary distilled into five basic rules. Don't mess with a fellow inmate's interests. Don't fight with other inmates. Don't exploit each other. Keep strong. And never trust the guards.

Somehow, the penal system here was actually binding the inmates closer together. In the warden's view, this so-called code highlighted the reasons why rehabilitation was so difficult to achieve. The benefits offered by therapeutic programs were rendered pretty much useless in a culture dictated by the inmate code. Such a social system foisted a skewed perspective on the entire penal population. The guards as well as the prisoners had a definite 'Us vs. Them' mentality.

In the coyote's case, however, the code failed. It was a case of Us, Them, . . . and Tech.

Even so, the other super villains were getting a little tired of the 'Beat on Tech' game. Sypher couldn't help but feel a little sorry for the poor dupe. After all, the power siphoning inmate wasn't so much a villain out for world domination, as he'd just wanted a little recognition. "So, dudes, don't you think you've had enough already?"

The guards surrounding their prisoner shifted uncomfortably. Their riot suits hid their identities, but what if it wasn't enough? Surely Sypher wouldn't bring the warden in on their little party.

"What's with the bleeding heart, looser? This _dog_," and here the guard emphasized the word with a kick, "betrayed you as well as us. Don't tell me you're volunteering to take his place in the fun 'n games."

"Hey, now don't get me wrong. I hate the dude as much as the next guy. That mangy coyote is the reason I'm in here . . . and the reason I can't get out." Alarm at the guard's threat fleetingly crossed Sypher's features; then he relaxed, feigning unconcern. Flopping down on his bunk, the villain crossed his arms behind his head and lounged back. He was lucky, all things considered. The guards were unsure enough about his ability to siphon away others' abilities that they pretty much left him alone. "I just thought you might want to save some of the bow-wow for later."

"Maybe you're right, _Cypher_." The lead guard followed through with one more blow of his truncheon, but though it connected with a resounding crack, the anthropomorphic coyote didn't react. A bad person doing bad was bad enough, but when a supposedly good person went bad it was unforgivable. It felt good to take a more 'active role' in the reformation system. And best of all, with the coyote's regeneration, the guard and his buddies were free to experiment without fear of the long-term effects. Still, the null-value villain did have a point. Even the ex-hero had his limits. Signaling his fellow guards, the riot suited men removed their prisoner's restraining and power dampening devices and dumped the canine anthromorph back into Mastermind's cell.

"Hey, dudes, how about tossing coyote ugly in here with me for a spell?" Sypher grinned his widest. 'Then I could steal Tech's powers.' The thought was appealing. But at the guards' comment that they'd then have to put Sypher in with Mastermind, the power siphoning villain reconsidered. He did not want that! The big head was scary even without her powers. The glory-vain villain recalled an earlier discussion between Tech and Mallory on the various meanings of 'sypher.' A siphon was something that drew out a substance like water from a bucket. A Cypher was a coded message, . . . or the mathematical symbol for zero, . . . or used to describe a person who was a nonentity. He'd not been amused. "Come to think of it, maybe the two brainiacs are a good match."

Mallory rushed to a mostly incoherent Tech as soon as the coyote was dumped back into their cell. The three foot tall villainess lifted a swollen shut eyelid to check for pupil reaction and felt for a pulse at the coyote's throat, but it was so weak that she couldn't be sure it was even there. Not that she actually cared about the mutt. It was just that the guards were becoming progressively bolder in the dog's 'obedience training,' and she wasn't yet ready to lose her pet. Tech was much too fun to torment to let him die on her now.

Mastermind stripped down the coyote's lime green jumper and pressed an ear against his chest fur. Yes, there was a heart beat . . . either that or she could only hear her own pulse pounding through her veins. She could also hear a faint gurgling in the mutt's shallow breaths. Not good. Mallory ran her hands over his chest, assessing Tech's damage. Tech moaned when small gratings greeted her fingers as a section of ribs moved counter to the rest. Crushed ribs and a non-stabilized thorax . . . really not good.

"Come on, you mangy dog, roll over, Rover." Largely unfamiliar with the life sciences, Mastermind nonetheless did know physics. Logic dictated rolling the victim injured side down so that blood from the punctured lung would not flow into the uninjured one and drown him. A thin trickle of red escaped the corner of his mouth when she rolled Tech onto his side. Mallory straddled the coyote's middle using all of her 67 pounds to hold him on his side until the power stasis from his restraints wore off and his molecular regeneration could heal him. Of course, she knew if she arranged his limbs correctly, he'd stay on his side regardless, but where was the fun in that? "Tech, come on, let gravity be your friend."

". . . no friends . . . save one . . .." The concept mingled with the coyote's delirium. Science had always been his friend . . . even before his friends, the Loonatics and Rev . . . even when he'd had no others. And science would be his friend long after all others abandoned him. Fact, scientific truth was a harsh mistress, but always loyal. Truth ever betrayed you as long as you adhered to her exacting demands. ". . . brilliant."

A humorless smile touched Mallory's lips. The dog was just now discovering what she had known all along. Then her sneer softened, but only slightly. Tech really was too good a person to be here. Even near death, he gave credit where credit was due. She just loved it when he called her brilliant.

A slight tingling sensation drew Mallory's attention and she looked down to see Tech's green glow finally kicking in to heal his injuries. Tech's heart beat grew stronger and his breathing evened out as his healing factor worked on restoring him. Even the blood from his wounds was enveloped by the green glow and molecularly regenerated back into the anthromorph. It wasn't surprising. When he was disintegrated, his powers worked on his ashes. Liquid or powder, and even his clothing come to think of it, his powers restored it all. The big headed villainess' smile widened as the wounds pulled together under her touch. She loved the feel of the emerald glow tickling over her. "I wonder if it's just the bio-energy of his molecular regeneration that tickles or if it actually affects me as well."

A calculating look entered Mallory's eyes. Since all matter was influenced by electromagnetism and not just ferrous material, maybe if Tech could utilize his magnetism and regeneration at the same time he could heal some else. Their mutual animosity kept them from working together to expand their abilities, but that wouldn't prevent the big headed villainess from conducting a few experiments of her own on the dog. As often as the coyote was injured, she could easily device a series of tests to find out.

The emerald glow expanded to completely engulf both prisoners. Tech's mind cleared. Half undressed with Mallory atop him, the genius struggled to separate lingering, trauma-induced hallucination from reality. Coming fully to his senses, Tech abruptly sat up, dumping the tiny Mallory and pulling his prison jumper back onto his shoulders. "What are you doing!"

"Nothing much." Mallory picked herself up from the pile of books where she landed and smoothed back her long, black hair into its simple ponytail. Deciding to payback Tech for dumping her, she threw a teasing tone into her voice. "I just like watching you heal."

Tech growled, but it came out more of a whine. Ignoring his indignity, the genius straightened the pile of spilled books. A strand of spaghetti left over from the last meal caught his attention. Neither Mallory nor he was allowed outside their cell, even for mealtime. They were deemed too dangerous to allow in the cafeteria. The only time he was taken out was for certain of the guards' entertainment. The guards had spilled his tray when they took him earlier. He picked up the limp noodle, twirling it between his fingers as he contemplated it.

"Mall? do you have any anatomy and physiology, or biochemistry books anywhere in this mess?" Tech learned early on that the prison staff didn't take any requests from him.

"No. I don't have any organic or life science reading materials. The studies never interested me." Mallory watched Tech fiddle with the scrap of food he'd picked up. It looked like he was trying to fashion something from it. She could practically see the wheels turning in his mind. Tech was good at integrating various scientific disciplines. He had also designed these cells in the first place. If anyone could figure out how to escape his own cells it would be the coyote. It might not hurt to garner a little favor with the mutt. "But, I suppose I could request Grey's Anatomy 75413 edition."

Gratitude eased the coyote's features. "Thanks."

"Don't think I like you, because I don't." Disdain knotted Mallory's brow and annoyance tinged her voice. "But since you insist on antagonizing the guards, I'd better find a way to keep breath in that mangy hide of yours. I don't need a dog slaughter wrap messing up my parole review."

"I don't antagonize . . .."

"Though maybe they'd give me time off for good behavior if I did . . .." Mallory smiled sweetly.

Too exhausted by his ordeal to continue the argument, The coyote retreated into the small den that he'd built from some of Mallory's books. His punished body lapsed into an exhausted sleep as soon as he curled up.

Mallory shifted closer and peered into the recess. Though still asleep, a shiver ran through the Canis latrans-sapien. The small human shook her large head. If she moved suddenly or got too close when he was asleep Tech became restive or awoke with a start. The harsh reality of his prison life was ingraining trained reflexes in him.

The villainess noted a green glow, so faint that at first she wasn't sure it was even there, illuminated the interior of the coyote's den. Most likely as a result of Tech's rough time in prison, he was always powered up at least a little. A green glow permanently settled in the depths of his eyes and his fur seemed to have a bit of life of its own. Mallory was a bit disappointed that even his fur was turning green again as it did when he was actively an action hero. Only when the guards fitted him with his power dampening cuffs did his true colors completely show through. Even when he was asleep or unconscious as he was now, the green tint persisted.

At first she hadn't been sure if it was normal or not, but the changes seemed to be becoming more prevalent the longer they were cellmates. Mallory wondered if the canid's power was strengthening or just refining. Either way, she might benefit from it. "I'll definitely have to be nicer to the mutt . . . even if it kills me."

Orange Triangle.

The elevator doors swished open, revealing the five Loonatics, Guardians of the Universe. The two guards on duty nodded acknowledgment and stepped aside. All relevant instructions had been issued prior to their arrival. It was standard procedure for the Loonatics to visit prisoners directly in their cells. As the super powered anthropomorphic heroes passed, the guards glanced at each other then sent warning glares at the inmates of the prison block.

"Hello, Loosers, Slime Balls, Dregs of Society." Danger swaggered down the block. Though not as common now that the team moved to Blanc, time was when the Loonatics' prison visits were common occurrences. The fowl exuded an air of confidence, but despite taunting them, the inmates remained silent. The Loonatics were already over halfway down the hall and not one catcall greeted them . . . though some of the prisoners did glare daggers at them.

Lexi added her own scowl. The pink bunny could not believe the insensitivity of the mallard. She stole a glance at the devastated roadrunner. This was hard enough on them, particularly Rev, without Danger's snide comments. "Duck!"

"What?!" Danger countered. Being overly concerned with popular opinion, the mallard knew something was wrong. He just couldn't quite put his feathered finger on it. "Don't you find it just the slightest bit odd that everyone here is behaving themselves so well? We're not exactly their favorite people, you know."

"No. Have you considered that just maybe the penal reform program is actually working, Duck?" Lexi rolled her eyes, but then ignored the insensitive lout. The pink bunny stopped in front of her teammate's cell, careful not to touch the force barrier separating them. "Hi, Tech. You're looking well."

"That is because of my regenerative abilities." Tech's sardonic tone took his teammates by surprise.

Disturbed by the comment, Ace moved directly in front of his ex-teammate. Concern clouded the leader's normally clear blue eyes. "Are da inmates roughing ya up, Tech?"

"You wish," Tech snorted. A dower expression settled on his face. "Actually, _**I**_ wish."

Mastermind scoffed at the Loonatics' naiveté. Though perhaps not the standard for most of the penal system, here in the high security block, the inmates had learned to more or less stick together. Not only for added protection from certain of the guards, but also to avoid revenge from their fellows should any of them escape. "The only difference between us and many of the guards around here is one set gets to go home at the end of the day."

Tech released a rumbling sigh that was more than half growl. Though the guards carefully concealed their identities behind their riot suits, he could identify them by scent, even if he might not know their names. There were many law enforcers he'd known prior to his incarceration that he greatly respected, but it only took a few bad apples to ruin the whole bushel. Most of the guards were decent . . . though apparently more were being sucked in all the time. Unfortunately, this set seemed to have gotten themselves assigned to the maximum security wing.

Tech cast about the literary stacks cluttering the cell, then snatched up an article on signal coding and data compression. He ripped out the title page, crumpled it up and threw it at his cellmate. It bounced off her big head, but she caught it on the rebound. She un-wadded it and snorted at the title. "Discrete Wavelet Transform." Mallory sank down behind a pile of books until only the top of her head was seen over it. She crossed her arms over her chest. Fine. She would be "discrete."

Tech shook off his morose thoughts, determined to make the most of his teammates' visit. He smiled at his friends. "It's good to see you."

"Hi-Tech,-boy-I-sure-missed-you." Rev forced his discomfort down. The roadrunner had no idea what to say to his friend, but just started talking about inconsequential things and soon he forgot his unease. "We-had-this-really-big-battle-and-it-was-really-really-hard-without-you,-but-we-got-it-in-the-end-by-spinning-the-other-way,-which-really-was-your-idea-even-if-you-weren't-there. But-things-on-Blanc-are-fine-except-I-can't-get-the-static-out-of-the-Cathode-Anode-Ray-assemblies-and-I've-tried-everything-I-can-think-of-but-I-still-can't-get-it-to-work."

The first genuine smile in a long time twitched the corners of Tech's mouth. He sure had missed the roadster's nonstop chatter. If things ever got back to normal between them, he'd NEVER clamp Rev's bleak shut again! "Hmm, have you tried a reverse modulation matrix to overcome the impedance?"

"Thank you, Tech." Ace said preemptively. The Loonatics inserted themselves between roadrunner and coyote as if their physical presence could somehow block the bond between the two. The Loonatic leader certainly didn't need Rev unknowingly sabotage the base at Tech's instructions. At a nod from Ace, Lexi pulled Rev to the back of the group. "I'm sure Rev can figure it out on his own."

Ace studied the captive coyote a moment, then drew a breath and plunged in. He had to know. He glanced worriedly at his teammates. The Loonatics had the right to know. "Tech, did you send out restricted information?"

Tech remained silent and the silence condemned him in the sight of his ex-teammates. He couldn't lie to those who should be his friends. Falsehoods were antithesis to the scientist. Even if he was inclined to try, the coyote knew that Ace's enhanced vision would detect any sign of deception. But neither could he break his promise of confidentiality. "I would never do anything to jeopardize innocent people. Trust me."

Danger Duck cocked his head. That was an odd way to answer Ace's accusation. Having business dealings of his own, the mallard knew an evasion when he heard one. Danger muttered under his breath. "So Tech would never harm innocents, but villains never consider anyone innocent."

"Look guys, contact Zadavia." Tech changed tact. "She can vouch for me."

Anger burned in Ace's eyes. How dare the traitor presume to appeal to someone whom he so grievously wronged? Ace grimly unrolled the arrest warrant holding it close to the barrier between them so that Tech could see and read it for himself.

His analytical training kicking in, Tech quickly scanned over the document. It was a pretty standard arrest warrant, stating neither accusations nor evidences. The first signature on the bottom was that of Queen Tyrr'henia. Tech snorted, counting Martian involvement as invalid since they routinely committed worse atrocities than anyone. He read to the end of the order. " . . . no . . .." Disbelief strangled Tech's protest; all four of the premier planets' leadership signed it. Stunned, the coyote collapsed to his knees as his legs refused to support him any longer. But, . . . but he'd been so careful! How could Zadavia possibly believe him guilty?

A frown etched Tech's face. This was so not good. How could he convince his friends that he wasn't involved in a conspiracy? Well, okay, so maybe technically he was, of sorts; but how could he convince the Loonatics that he was innocent? Tech climbed slowly to his feet. "Look, I'm sure we can get this all straightened out at the trial."

"Da trial is over, Tech." Ace sighed and his belligerence drained away. Ace's eyes wandered over the rest of the inmates in the high security block. Even the worst of them had been allowed to attend their own trials. But Tech's had been held with him in absentee. The authorities didn't trust that the genius coyote wouldn't escape, and the Loonatics had been off planet saving some quarter of the galaxy at the time and couldn't attend the trial. Due to the delicate nature of the information involved, even the holo-conferencing court option was denied for fear that an outside party might tap into the line. In some cases, like the mutated dolphin, Aldolpho, who could not be removed from his fish tank cell to enter a courtroom, the villain, legal representation, and court met over vidio-phones and the trial was held long distance. "You were found guilty."

Slam grunted, but it was Danger Duck who provided the verdict. And this time, even Lexi didn't challenge the mallard's lack of tact. "Yep, sentenced to life. But only because they knew they couldn't execute you and have it stick. What with you're molecular regeneration and all."

Ace ran his enhanced vision over his distraught teammates, accessing their emotional condition. Concentrating on his friends' needs was the only way the Loonatic leader could keep his own objectivity during this personal crisis. The yellow and black clad bunny placed a supportive hand on Danger's shoulder. The black and orange duck masked his distressed under his bravado.

"I wasn't even invited to my own trial?" Tech was incredulous. Okay . . . he supposed he could understand if the authorities thought he was simply too dangerous to let off his leash, but he got the nagging suspicion that everyone was woefully overestimating his abilities. Albert Einstein's quote of "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits" came to mind. No one had ever told him what the charges against him were or what evidence they had that he was the culprit. The coyote genius struggled to retain his objective viewpoint. What evidence could be so condemning? He'd left nothing! He wasn't just fishing for information, he needed to figure out what was going on and why they targeted him. Gaining this information was the only way he could hope to counter it. "So, it was pretty condemning evidence was it?"

"Don't know. It was a closed hearing and de evidence was confidential. Da court also didn't disclose da charges or da testimonies or even who da witnesses were. Matters of interplanetary security." Ace shifted uncomfortably. After Tech's arrest, the Loonatic leader convinced himself of the traitor's guilt, but now seeing his old friend and teammate face to face, it seemed as unreal as when Tweetums first issued the warrant. The coyote seemed so sincere.

"What?! You mean I've been accused, arrested, imprisoned without bail, tried, and convicted all on nebulous hearsay?" They STILL weren't telling him?! Now Tech was nervous. It was sounding more and more like he was just railroaded. "What kind of justice system is that?"

"The kind that knows how to deal with traitors." There! A self-satisfied smirk touched Danger Duck's bill. At least now Tech knew what he was convicted of. It wasn't fair that Tech hadn't even known that. This one small tidbit of information was the least he could offer his one time teammate and friend. "You surrendered your rights when you turned to treason."

"I am no traitor!"

"Tell it to the victimized people of Freleng," Danger countered.

"Freleng?" Tech questioned. "What happened on Freleng?"

"Hah! As if you don't know."

"I DON'T know!"

"Oh, please, Tech. Stop it. Playing dumb never looks convincing coming from a super genius." Danger planted his fists on his hips and stood as close to the coyote as the barrier separating them allowed.

Slam rumbled slightly to himself. The Tasmanian devil carefully watched the duck and coyote's argument. Tech was genuinely upset, but Danger didn't seem particularly vicious. Oh, the snide comments were there, but the purple hued predator detected some undercurrent of compassion in the mallard. It was almost as if the mallard was trying to answer some of Tech's questions. Slam grunted again. Clever duck.

Unaware of his burly teammate's appraisal, Danger continued. "Like you don't know that _someone_ hired Rupes Oberon and his funky band to use the cosmic guitar that YOU made made to turn the Frelengians against Zadavia and Optimatus. Luckily I was there to quell the revolt."

"All right! Dat's enough! Too much information has been passed on already." Ace cut in angrily and pulled Danger back. Fury burned yellow hot in the Loonatic leader's eyes. He saw again in his mind's eye Zadavia wounded and scared, her palace destroyed, and her people threatened . . . all because of the traitorous coyote before him! "We can't afford any more!"

"Oh, come on guys, you know me better than that!" Feeling betrayed and somewhat desperate, Tech begged for his friends' help, for their understanding, for something, . . . for anything! "Do your own investigation. You have to find out what really happened!"

"Alrighty den, let's start with you." Ace's eyes glowed yellow, not with a laser blast, but with his enhanced vision. The Loonatic leader looked Tech square in the eyes. "Tell me dat you passed no information. Dat you gathered no information. Dat you didn't breach security for any of da planets."

Tech's jaw worked soundlessly, for once his great mind refusing to give him an answer. "Ace, I'm loyal. I'm loyal to Zadavia. I'm loyal to the Loonatics. I'm loyal to my friends . . .. I'm loyal to YOU. I thought you knew that."

"Yeah, I thought I knew dat too." Hurt and disappointment vied for dominance against the anger in Ace's eyes. The coyote's refusal to give a straight answer confirmed his guilt. Ace gathered up his teammates and herded them back to the elevator. "Don't expect us back. And don't bother writing."

Tech lunged forward in an instinctive attempt to stop his friends from leaving. The barrier cracked and he jerked back his hand from the sharp pain. The forcefield dome was an amalgam of the first and second types of force containers of Mallory's old prison cells. "No! don't cut me off! Ace! please. Lexi? Slam, Duck! Rev . . . ah, come on Rev, you know me! You know I would never do anything like this!"

Rev stopped just inside the elevator. With a burst of super speed, the quickster left Lexi even though she was crying and slipped out of the elevator as the door closed, cutting him off from the other Loonatics. The roadrunner was back before his best friend's cell before he was aware that he'd even moved. "I-know-that . . ." Rev choked on his whisper, then tried again. "I-know-that-the-Tech-I-knew-never-would."

Danger quacked back in. "But you aren't the coyote we used to know."

The mallard latched onto Rev and quacked both of them out, carrying Tech's anguished howl with them. Danger shuddered. It was worse than if the coyote's heart had been torn out . . . it was as if his very soul was rent.

Tech sank to his knees once again. Even if Rev didn't completely desert him, the others would keep him away. Some half instinctual sense of being driven from the pack . . . from his rout . . . gripped him when Ace as leader, in particular, and the others rejected him. His howl faded as he ran out of breath, but his shoulders still shook with silent sobs.

"The best justice that money can buy," Mallory quipped as she came out from behind her book stacks. People in power never hesitated to flaunt it. "You tick off the wrong person, and you're screwed . . . never mind that you're innocent."

"If my life means nothing to my friends, then how can it mean anything to me?" Tech's hoarse whisper was barely audible.

Mallory stomped around in front of the coyote and slapped him for his foolishness. Time was when the dog was her mentor. Now it was her turn. "Tech E. Coyote, you are the dumbest, smart person I have ever met!"

.

A/N In answer to a question posted to me, I picked up the *color* Triangle trick from the cartoon itself. If you notice the scene right before or sometimes the one right after the Triangle in the cartoon, you can see that which ever Loonatic played most prominently in that scene has his or her signature color in the Triangle. So, since Danger Duck was the first one specifically mentioned after the scene change in this piece, I used an orange triangle.


	7. Chapter 7

Loonatics Unleashed:

"Silent Conspiracy"

(This story is post Season Two – after the cartoon series.)

Rated T for Intrigue.

Disclaimer: Loonatics Unleashed, Duck Dodgers in the 24th and ½ Century, Looney Tunes, and all related Characters and Elements are trademarks of Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Other references, lyrics and quotes belong to their individual artists, authors, copyrights, or trademarks.

.

Pink Triangle.

Zadavia ran her hands down her flowing, prismatic cape, then they fiddled with her long, golden hair. She forced them still as she opened a connection to her Loonatics on the planet Blanc. The living room of the Loonatic's home base came into focus. It was a scene that had greeted her many times before. Lexi stood staring out the panoramic window over the Blancian landscape. Danger was posing in front of his full length holographic mirror. And Ace was seated cross-legged on his hovering meditation disk. But there were differences as well that told the Frelengian princess that all was not well with her Loonatics.

"_The promises, hollow concessions. __And innocent show of affection, touch your hand, a hologram . . .. We used to love one another, give to each other . . . are you friend or foe? Love one another, live for each other. So, are you friend or foe? 'Cause I used to know. We used to, we used to, . . . we used to, used to, used to . . .. __Is it too late?_" Though Lexi wore her EMP3 Music Blaster 5000 earphones listening to the old classic "Friend or Foe" by tATu, she wasn't dancing to the music. In fact, judging by the bunny's halfhearted, sporadic singing along with the techno pop rock, she was quite sad and depressed. "_Nothing to salvage. __You look away, clear all damage . . .. We used to love one another, give to each other . . . so, are you friend or foe? Love one another, live for each other. So, are you friend or foe? . . . 'cause I used to know, are you friend or foe? Love one another, live for each other. So, are you friend or foe? __Friend or foe, friend or foe, friend or foe?_"

Slam sat rolling a bright yellow, football-sized spiky fruit between his hands before him on the table. He didn't eat it. But the biggest indication was Rev. The roadrunner wasn't zipping around the place or playing a game of air hockey against himself. The roadster sat quite still beside Slam with his arms crossed on the table in front of him and his head resting on them. A scientific paper, "Meteor Spawned Ability Manipulation of Universal Super Strings," stamped with a large red 'uncorrected proof' across it sat on the table beside him. It'd come in the post while the Loonatics were out, and only required Tech's final corrections before it its final submission. It would be a long time before the research paper was published.

Slam reached over and patted Rev on the shoulder, but the speedster shrugged off his teammate. He wanted to be left alone, . . . but he didn't want to _be_ alone. Hence he didn't leave the common living space. "Some-big-brother-I-am. Who's-going-to-lead-Tech-out-of-trouble-this-time?"

After assessing her friends, the Frelengian princess finished the connection so that the Loonatics would know she was calling. The whole situation with Tech was hard on all of them. As she waited for a response, her fingers twiddled against each other. She hid her hands behind her back as Ace answered her call. "Greetings, Loonatics."

"Oh. Hey der Zadavia, what's up?" Ace forced cheerfulness into his voice, but the worry clouding his normally clear blue eyes betrayed him. The Loonatics had been coping fine until their visit to Prison Station Alpha. Seeing Tech just reopened recently mended wounds.

"Thankfully, nothing. I just called to see how your trip to Acmetropolis went." Zadavia's hands sneaked out from behind her back and again smoothed a non-existent wrinkle from her royal attire. She was unsure what Tech might attempt to get his name cleared. She and the other planetary leaders could ill afford any scandals if the genius decided to wage a vendetta against them. All pretense of royal aloofness left the princess. "How did Tech take the news of his trial?"

Ace shook his head. "Not well."

"How are you taking it?" Zadavia longed to take her Loonatics into her arms and comfort them.

The Loonatic leader looked around at his despondent teammates. They were a sorry sight. Ace sucked in a sharp breath through his teeth. "Not well."

.

Light years away on Freleng, Optimatus came up to his sister and placed a hand on her arm to get her attention. Once satisfying herself that the turncoat coyote hadn't breathed out threatenings upon hearing about his conviction, Zadavia signed off and turned to her older brother. "What is it, Optimatus?"

"A call from the mayor of Acmetropolis." Optimatus folded his muscular arms, tapping the fingers of his natural hand against the bionic implant of his left forearm. The two women had apparently become quite close friends during Zadavia's exile. He stepped out of the holographic view of the mayor. The portly woman had not fully forgiven him his own previous betrayal of Zadavia. The Frelengian prince hesitated to let the mayor add more troubles to Zadavia's list of concerns, but just maybe helping with someone else's problems would help his sister forget her own. A turn in the women's conversation snagged his attention.

" . . . they say they have the holographic footage." The mayor's slightly exotic features were scrunched in worry, her dark eyes desperately trying to convey to her old friend the whole extent of the threat without actually mentioning it over a possibly unsecured line. There was only one secret that the blackmailer could possibly exploit. It was harmless, really, unless it was made known by the wrong hands. Then she could be in great danger; and through her, all of Acmetropolis.

"But that is not possible!" Knowing the mayor's secret, Zadavia's shock showed plainly in her pale green eyes. First Freleng came under attack by the Music Villain, now Acmetropolis was threatened. Ever since the planetary leaders moved against the traitor, things had been spiraling out of control. Where would it stop? And what was the attacker's ultimate goal? One thing was certain, at this critical time in the galactic political climate, such a perceived scandal could prove fatal to all the ruling regimes. They could not afford political unrest in these perilous times. "Any clue as to who sent the message?"

"Not really." The mayor indicated a report on her desk. "There has been a disturbance on the prison ship, but nothing from the high security section."

"I see. Have the warden step up security anyway. And I'll send the Loonatics to consult with him on the matter." Zadavia's face fell dead of emotion. "Have any demands been issued?"

"No, no demands, at least yet, but . . .." The mayor shuddered slightly, recalling the distorted, voice-gram claiming knowledge of who she really was. The recording was of such a low quality that it actually stuttered.

Off to the side, Optimatus rumbled quietly to himself. Everything seemed to tie in together forming one great, grand scheme. One that made his own previous plans of conquest look like a child's game. The Frelengian prince determined to consult with General Melvin . . . again. The cannonball headed Martian was difficult to read, but he had proven quite the strategist.

Red Triangle.

" 'As-the-prison-warden-in-charge-of-the-general-penitentiary-population,-and-I-am-well-within-my-purview,'-my-eye! I'm-a-galactic-hero,-you'd-think-that'd-count-for-something. I've-saved-their-sorry-tail-feathers-from-dangers-they-don't-even-know-exist!" Rev griped. The speedy roadrunner punched the console of the Orion Class Cruiser as he docked it back in the Loonatics' Blancian port. The Loonatics had been using the Dragon Ship, as they called it, ever since they'd captured it from Optimatus when he was still their enemy. "What-does-that-mean-anyway? If-Tech-was-too-dangerous-to-let-out-of-his-cell-even-for-his-own-trial,-where-would-they-put-him-for-solitary-confinement? They'd-have-to-take-Mastermind-out . . .-and-knowing-Tech,-he'd-like-that. And-Tech-causing-problems-in-the-prison? No-way,-no-how! If-Tech-was-stirring-up-trouble,-he'd-be-out! Yeah,-that's-what-I-should-have-said!"

The speedster shook his head in self-remonstration. Oh, man, how come he could never think of those things on the spot? Rev checked the chronometer before disembarking. The time elapse from when he'd started his little impromptu journey was 16.23 hours. Boy, there was no way Ace and the others hadn't missed him. It was too bad that he'd been unable to convince Tweetums to open a wormhole for him to Acmetropolis.

Rev zipped through the pastoral beauty of Blanc's forest-like cities to the Loonatics' tree house headquarters, then quickly deactivated the security system so he could slip in unnoticed. He was glad he was the one with the internal GPS. It made getting into the lab easier. Despite the discomforting memories of Tech in the place, it was where he wanted to be.

Rev wandered over to the energy processor that he and Tech had photon-lasered from General Melvin's command ship all that time ago when the Loonatics had still lived on and operated from Acmetropolis. The memory made him smile despite the distinct lack of Tech in the lab. The coyote's micro-mechanical cleavage apparatus occupied the central workbench. The lab was remarkably empty and clean despite the pile of gear dumped at a side workstation that needed repair. Lexi's enviro-suit damaged in the Loonatic's recent battle on Freleng topped the pile. The gadgeteer and the inventor hadn't been on Blanc long enough to properly break in their lab yet. Though the circular room also contained the Martian primary processor and parts from Melvin's shuttle that the Loonatics boosted to escape his warship the first time they encountered the little twerp.

Rev and Tech had been studying the Martian technology and reverse engineering it. Though the runner admitted that it was mostly Tech doing the studies. The genius had to advance an entirely new field of subatomic particulate physics merely to cover the energy transferal parameters of the Marian energy processor. The scientific advances earned him much prestige in the science communities of several systems. Tech now understood the principles involved in Martian energy technology and he had even gone as far as to design one of his own that relied on magnetism as an alternative catalytic initiator. It was actually superior to what the Martians used, being safer and more cost effective. But the real problem was the raw resources required.

"It's-sad,-really. The-Martians-need-power-to-get-the-resources-that-they-need-to-generate-more-power. The-more-planets-they-accumulate,-the-more-resources-that-war-like-race-requires-to-maintain-them,-which-in-turn-requires-more-conquests-to-provide-the-needed-resources. After-millennia-of-such-aggressive-policy,-the-Martians-have-so-many-enemies-that-they-don't-dare-power-down-even-if-they-want-to-for-fear-of-being-destroyed." Rev shook his head. It was quite the vicious cycle. While working on the energy processor, the two lab partners' main problem was the massive energy production that the Martians were capable of generating. A good portion of this was their readily available resources from their thousands of conquered planets. Resources that, quite simply, neither the Loonatics nor the premier planets, namely Acmetropolis, Blanc, or even Freleng, could access.

Rev picked up a spanner and began tinkering with his buddy's prototype. Tech hadn't finished with it yet. The gadgeteer sighed. Unfortunately, Rev couldn't even really keep up with the battle damaged on the Loonatics' existing equipment, much less have any hope of actually coming up with something new. Then renewed determination set the roadster's features. "I-bet-if-I-could-solve-the-energy-problem-for-the-penitentiary,-then-Tech-wouldn't-be-getting-himself-in-trouble-and-he'd-be-available-for-me-to-visit."

Ace stood in the doorway, leaning against its frame. The Loonatic leader entered the lab in time to hear the last of what the roadrunner said. Though Lexi had said nothing, the yellow bunny noticed when her ears suddenly perked up and decided to act on the hunch that the speedster was back. "Where ya been, Rev?"

"Uh,-here? Well,-not-all-the-time-here,-but-at-least-recently-here-I've-been-here." Rev jumped at the sudden intrusion of his leader. The gadgeteer dropped the wrench, his heart racing. He only avoided smashed toes due to his super speed. Man, no wonder Tech never liked him to sneak up on him while he was working. "Heh,-heh,-heh,-there-certainly-is-a-lot-of-work-to-do. I've-been-trying-to-repair-stuff,-but-I-still-seem-to-be-falling-behind-in-the-work."

"Ya tried ta visit Tech." It was half statement, half accusation. Ace rubbed the tension from his eyes. Ace didn't need super enhanced vision to see that Rev was fudging. "We decided dat we weren't going ta do dat."

"No,-YOU-decided! Not-me. Tech-is-my-friend . . . my-brother. Even-if-he-is-evil-now,-you-can't-expect-me-to-abandon-him!" Though he still hated being scolded for visiting the 'enemy,' Rev braced himself for the inevitable confrontation with Ace.

"Rev, matters of confidentiality were breached." Ace didn't like abandoning Tech any better than Rev did, but there were serious consequences that, as guardians of the universe, they had to consider. The rest of the Loonatics joined the bunny and roadrunner, trying very hard not to widen the rift between the two, but to somehow bring them all together. "We have ta . . .."

"Well,-_confidentially_,-I-think-it-stinks!" Feeling his eyes sting, Rev took off running as fast as he could. But even he couldn't really say what he was running away from.

Startled at the runner's vehement outburst, but not really surprised, Ace sent Danger after him. The short black and orange mallard quacked out, tracking the roadrunner on his com-link's Quack Finder, but he was back even before the residual quacking teleport energies could all disperse. He held out Rev's red communicator in his hand. "He ditched it."

Ace again rubbed his eyes against the headache building behind them. "Slam, go bring Rev back. We have ta come ta an agreement." Though reasonably mild mannered, Slam was a predator. The Tasmanian devil should have little trouble hunting down the avian even without a homing beacon. Then Ace remembered when Rev first discovered Tech's betrayal and the damage done to the base. "No, wait. On second thought, bring him ta da virtual trainer. We'll meet ya dere."

Yellow Triangle.

Lexi programmed in the most idealistic scenes from the four premier planets: the central park of Acmetropolis, the pastoral countryside of Blanc, the sparkling seas of Freleng, and even the red crags of Mars. Showing Rev just what they were fighting to protect seemed like a good idea to the pink bunny. She felt Ace's blue eyes on her and she looked up from her programming with a smile. "Visual Aids," the pink and black clad bunny supplied in response to Ace's unspoken question.

Ace nodded, but Danger Duck just scoffed. "Yeah, right. Bringing Rev to come play in the rumpus room; a fat lot of good that's going to do. If I were leader, I wouldn't put up with him sneaking out. No siree, I'd have strict order and discipline."

"Can it, Duck. I'm da leader of dis group and I'll handle it." Ace began wondering if his little 'chat' with Rev would have to expand out to include others of the Loonatics, but before the yellow bunny could decide to make it into a group activity the door slid open. A ruckus sounded from the hallway.

"Let-me-go,-you-overgrown-marsupial!" Slam dragged Rev into the virtual trainer, kicking and screaming all the way. Rev didn't have many offensive capabilities, only his super speed and the flames that it at times produced. Still, the speedster wasn't actually angry at Slam and he didn't want to scorch the Tasmanian devil in his after burn. Once inside the training room, Slam released his hold on the roadrunner. Then the devil stood in the doorway, blocking the exit.

"Dat's enough, Rev." Ace approached his recalcitrant teammate. "We're gonna settle dis right now."

Slightly intimidated by Ace's implied threat, Rev took off running through the virtual landscape. He knew if he could gain a little time to calm down, he'd be able to better face his teammates. With Ace pressing the issue now, however, the roadster feared he would end up doing or saying something that he would come to regret. The supercharged roadrunner sped over the sparkling waters, his speed kicking up virtual spray without letting him actually sink. He raced up rosy cliff faces and between trees and statues. All the while muttering to himself . . . though the acoustics of the training room carried his complaints to the rest of the Loonatics. "What's-so-bad-about-seeing-Tech-anyway? Its-not-like-I-was-going-to-bring-him-a-file-baked-in-a-cake-so-that-he-could-escape-or-anything. I-mean-man,-are-we-so-worried-about-our-public-relations-that-we-can't-risk-being-seen-visiting-him? If-anything,-I'd-think-it'd-only-harm-our-image-to-cut-off-our-genius-from-any-good-influence-that-might-help-reclaim-him. But-NO,-'_we-decided_,'-yada,-yada,-yada."

A tight frown etched Ace's face at the criticism. It was one thing to vent ones feelings, but it was an entirely different matter to just complain and work up even more indignation. Annoyed at Rev's flippancy, Ace fired up his laser vision to try and slow the runner down enough for them to actually talk things out.

A virtual bush exploded in a ball of flame, neither Ace nor Rev quite knowing if it was the bunny's laser or the roadrunner's scorching speed that ignited it. Ace lowered his optical output to below normal sparring level. He really didn't need to add injury to insult. Minor blasts lit up the various areas in the trainer, but no more virtual damage was incurred.

Another splash of laser-light impacted at his feet and Rev swerved again. Then his internal GPS screamed. Looking up, Rev realized that Ace was herding him into a corner. Reversing his course, the speedster dashed against the yellow bunny. Just before impact, Rev swerved again and literally ran circles around his leader.

"Duck! A little help here!" Ace stumbled dizzily, then shot his laser eyes at the ground in front of the roadster again in an effort to block him.

"What? You're the leader. I thought you said you could handle him." As amusing as it was watching Ace and Rev play 'all around the mulberry bush,' Danger finally decided to lend a hand . . . or more accurately, an egg. It wasn't often that Ace admitted that he needed the mallard, and Danger wasn't about to loose the opportunity to rub it in his face. Recognizing the circle stumble play that he and Rev usually executed together, Danger wound up a tar egg and tossed it into the speedster's path. The sticky tar stuck to the roadrunner's feet only briefly until his fiery speed burned it off, but it slowed Rev enough for Ace to tackle him.

The two tumbled with the momentum, as the impact of the bunny knocked the roadrunner off his feet. Lexi cringed and frantically altered the virtual landscape opacity so that Ace and Rev would breakthrough without bodily damage. They came to a screeching halt and Ace pinned down the roadster using a hold that Slam had taught him. "Dis ain't about da Loonatics' reputation. We're big enough to handle a little bad P.R. It's about da success of our missions and keepin' people safe! Ya know as well as da rest of us dat Tech presents a real and present danger. He's smarter dan alla us put tagether and if we compromise security, even unintentionally, we could topple not only Zadavia's rule but alla da planetary governments. Is DAT what ya want?"

" . . . no,-but-I . . ."

"Look, Rev, its only until t'ings settle down and we straighten out dis mess." Ace hopped off the fowl and hauled Rev to his feet.

"I-can-go-after-they're-resolved?" Okay. Rev was ready to listen now.

"Yeah."

"And-you-will-come-visit-him-too?"

"Yeah." Ace glared at Danger, silently warning him not to take exception. "We all will."

"I-get-to-write-to-him-now,-though." Rev continued the bargaining process. Having a pop who was a salesman did have its advantages.

"Fine. But only once a week."

"And-. . .."

"Stop!" Ace said firmly, getting a bit exasperated at Rev. "Now promise me dat you won't go sneaking off ta visit Tech no more."

"I-promise."

"You promise what?" Ace prompted. "Hands in front, where I can see dem. And no crossing yer fingers or nothing. Dis is a REAL promise, Rev."

Rev scowled a bit. Ace had seen too many of his promises to Tech about not touching his stuff. Defeated, Rev pressed his hands flat on the virtual trainer's console, his head and tail lowered. "I-promise-to-obey-your-rules-regarding-Tech-until-we-get-this-resolved-or-until-you-lift-the-ban."

"Atta boy." Ace clapped his hand on the runner's shoulder.

"Or-until-until-next-quarter-starts." Rev hated giving promises with no outs. His pop used accounting quarters to manage his business. Perhaps he could do the same.

"Rev!" Ace scolded. Then the Loonatic leader threw his arm around the roadrunner's slight frame and guided all his teammates out of the virtual trainer.

"But-couldn't-I-go,-just-once,-to-let-him-know . . .."

"NO!"

The roadrunner's face was unusually somber as he pulled away from his teammates, leaving them in the living room. The roadster continued on to the main command center and set about reactivating the security measures that he'd turned off when he came in earlier. Rev considered how easily he walked back into the base after his attempted visit. If he could, then Tech could blindfolded. He could run the security protocols, but Tech wrote them. The gadgeteer started work on upgrading security. He had to be ready for the coyote. Why would Tech be in solitary confinement if he wasn't causing trouble? Hmm. If Tech was intent on escape, he WOULD escape. Rev had no doubt about that. "And-when-you-do,-'little brother,'-I'm-gonna-hunt-you-down-and-pound-some-sense-into-you!"

Red Triangle.


	8. Chapter 8

Loonatics Unleashed:

"Silent Conspiracy"

(This story is post Season Two – after the cartoon series.)

Rated T for Intrigue.

Disclaimer: Loonatics Unleashed, Duck Dodgers in the 24th and ½ Century, Looney Tunes, and all related Characters and Elements are trademarks of Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Other references, lyrics and quotes belong to their individual artists, authors, copyrights, or trademarks.

.

"At least this time they didn't disintegrate you." Mallory watched from across the cell as a duo of guards tossed Tech back in.

The lead guard clapped his hands together to pat off the coyote dust. He smirked at Mastermind's comment. His guards were practicing their forced compliance techniques that didn't inflict much physical damage, but still cause a lot of pain. Pity about the dog's leg, though . . . NOT. Once the guards' backs were turned, one of them pulled out a letter-gram and showed it to his buddy before destroying it and tossing it into a trash receptacle in payment for the superhero going bad. That and they really couldn't afford for the beast to tell others of their little fun and games. Such a pity that the coyote never got any mail . . . or any visitors. Pleased with themselves that they'd so thoroughly managed to cutoff the ex-hero from any outside contact, the guards left for a well deserved break.

Across the way from Mastermind's forcefield cell, Sypher glanced up to exchange looks with Massive. The huge, blue skinned gravity controller, however, was too busy flirting with the equally blue skinned Weathervane to notice. Sypher shook his shock of bright yellow and red hair. Massive was nothing more than a supercharged petty thief anyway. Still, the powers-siphon couldn't blame the others in the cell block for losing interest in the guards' hobby. It was getting pretty old.

"Okay, pooch, come on." Mallory braced her short, three foot stature to gain some leverage and grasped her cellmate's injured leg. Tech's protest that he was a coyote and not a dog cut off with a yip of pain when she touched him. The diminutive villainess slapped Tech's hands away from his broken leg. "Don't be such a baby, Tech. I have to reduce the fracture so it will heal straight. You don't want to be lame do you?"

"Thank you, Mallory. But manual manipulation of the displaced fracture is quite unnecessary," Tech gritted out through clenched teeth. Sure enough, as the powers stasis from his cuffs wore off, the coyote's emerald glow enveloped his injuries, realigning and healing them. His molecular regeneration reconstituted him clear from ashes and got him all in the right place. It did so with less serious injuries as well. He'd smirk if he didn't feel so wretched.

"Ahh," Mallory said in disappointment, "I wanted to watch you squirm." She had to admit that the dog's powers served him well. She just wished that she had more use of her own meteor-spawned technopathy power. But the super villainess had been already imprisoned for trying to steal intellects when the meteor struck Acmetropolis.

Tech withdrew into his 'den' that he'd made out of Mallory's books. Ace held true to his word. No one visited or even answered the letters he wrote them . . . not even Rev. The genius picked up the small, flower-like construct that he fashioned from scraps that he saved from his meals, but he couldn't see it clearly. The thin, interlaced casein and resistant starch 'pedals' spread open as the organic construct reacted to the saline of the coyote's tears that fell on them. A wry smile tugged at Tech's muzzle. This was the first ever of his inventions in which he literally put his blood, sweat, and tears. The canid inventor focused his magnetic powers on the construct to encourage more even distribution of the saline solution, but the fine tuning still wasn't going well.

"Here, boy." Mallory whistled sharply as if calling a pet dog. She found she actually liked company, even if it was just her old tutor. She didn't like it when Tech retreated into his pile of books. The three foot high girl grabbed the bushy tail and pulled, trying to drag him out. The coyote's hackles raised and he growled at her. Peering in, Mallory saw traces of dampness on the green furred cheek. "Ah, the poor little puppy is crying?"

"Not all tears are weakness, Mal." Tech wiped the dampness from his face. He needed to be more careful and not so spend so much time in his book cave-lab. If Mallory was suspicious enough to come looking for him, he might also attract the guards' attention.

Mallory sneered and knocked down the books destroying her best enemy's den. Though buried in books, the coyote was shielding something. Darting forward, the big headed villainess snatched it.

Tech's hackles raised again and he snarled. "Give it back, melon-head!"

Skipping back around a pile of reading material, Mallory looked at the object in her hand. No bigger than a ping pong ball, the thing looked remarkably like a pink fondant rose such as one might find on a wedding cake. Only it wasn't made of frosting. She snorted. Trust the coyote to make decorative vegetables like in oriental cuisine. Mallory bit into the vegi-construct just to spite the mutt, but pulled a face and spat it out again. It was like chewing on plastic!

Tech lunged for Mallory, but the guard coming to deliver the inmates' noon meal rammed a police baton against the forcefield setting off sparks. "Back off, you dumb beast! Unless you want to go walkies again?"

Tech whimpered, his ears and tail tucked down. It was the guards' 'walkies' that had occasioned his broken leg in the first place.

"Animal," Mallory snarled. Thinking that the villainess meant Tech, the guard laughed. He and his partner by the elevator control panel activated the unlocking sequence briefly and he gave Mastermind their trays. She handed over Tech's plate as the guards left and began eating her own meal. It was doubtless nutritious, but still only barely palatable. She watched her cellmate tuck a morsel into his sleeve for later. She frowned. The dog had lost a lot of weight since his arrest. The penal system used a specialized dietary system to calculate exactly what food each prisoner needed. Except Tech's forced regenerations were using up much more of his personal reserves than were being accounted for. Plus he was saving some of his food out for his little pet project, further starving himself. Mallory slipped half of her roll to Tech as she handed his broken vegetable flower back to him. "What is this thing, anyway?"

"Just a simple amalgam of dried vegetables, paper in a wheat gluten extract and casein precipitated from milk." Tech nodded slightly in thanks for the roll, but knew better than to say anything about it. Likely, Mallory donated some of her food so that the coyote wouldn't starve completely to death. "Dietary fiber in the form of resistant starch allows the rigid casein plates to articulate."

"Paper-mâché and plastic? Huh. And here I just thought you liked your cereal dry." Mallory finished her meal while Tech lectured. It actually was simple to construct a plastic alternative out of a cup of warmed, but not boiling, milk and a tablespoon of vinegar. The resulting casein could be molded like clay, or made into glue or even paint. Tech used vinegar from pickled beets, hence the flower's pink color. But she still couldn't figure out what possible use it could be. Mallory shook her over-sized head. "You must have been a horror with you science fair projects when you were a kid."

Tech smirked. "You have no idea."

"Oh, I think maybe I do," Mallory countered.

Seeing that Mallory wasn't quite as antagonistic as usual, Tech continued the scientific discussion. Mallory still called him various 'dog' names, but now she wasn't as biting as she once was. An idea that he'd been considering for a while resurfaced. "Chemistry is a remarkable subject, Mal. It's like I've always said, all science is fascinating."

"Tech, why are you still trying to tutor me? We're not in college anymore."

"Yeah, some never learn." Tech glanced at his onetime friend and student from the corner of his eye, trying to evaluate if he could trust her or not. "But I still hold out hope for you."

"Ha, ha. Very funny." Tech always did try to get her to expand her courses of study. Mallory remembered when Tech tried to teach her morality in school. 'Tit for Tat,' he'd called the one set of morality equations. Game theory was a branch of applied mathematics developed in the early twenty-first century that attempted to mathematically quantify behavior in strategic situations. Specifically in dealing with an individual's success in making choices depending on the choices of others. Even in the twenty-eighth century, game theory was still used in such areas as social science, economics, biology, engineering, political science, computer science and artificial intelligence, and philosophy.

Basically, 'Tit for Tat' was a transaction algorithm where you could either play straight or cheat. You started off playing it straight, then if the other person cheated, you mirrored their choices one step behind. It was a highly successful strategy. All of the straight players did better than the cheaters. Though Mallory wasn't convinced of that; she always preferred to get the first strike in. "Just don't go all 'morality' on me again."

"Why not? It's not just a social attitude. Surely, even you can quantify good and evil." Tech leaned back, but continued studying the girl before him. An emerald shimmer lit the depths of his olive colored eyes. "If a thing or action's net result expands, edifies or encourages growth and development, it is good. If it constricts, reduces, stunts or oppresses, it's evil. Net constructive = good. Net destructive = bad. Plain and simple. Now that doesn't mean that something good can't be salvaged from something bad, but . . .."

"Oh, please! You think that the villains that dorm together, reform together?" Mallory rolled her eyes. The dumb mutt. After all he'd been through as an action hero, . . . and as a convict, how could Tech still be so naïve? The guards had already carried out several death sentences on him over the course of his imprisonment. Where was the good in that? It was only due to the dog's molecular regeneration that he still survived. "You're a villain, Tech. Just like the rest of us. The sooner you accept that there's a different morality for us than for common, law abiding folk, the better off you'll be."

Scooting close, Mallory ran a hand down her cellmate's arm, absently petting the wiry coyote fur. It was only the outer layer that was coarse. Digging in her fingers, she came to the soft undercoat. Tech really was like a big puppy dog, ultimately trusting and loyal. In fact, it was his loyalty to his ideals that landed her in prison in the first place. She slapped him when he tried to push her away, then continued running her fingers through the lightly green tinged fur. Tech pulled away, but there wasn't even a snarl this time. The diminutive villainess inched forward and again encroached on the canine's personal space until she backed him nearly into the forcefield's far wall and he couldn't retreat any further. The coyote just sighed and concentrated on fixing his broken vegi-construct.

"Remember telling me that if I persisted in crossing the line, that I'd end up in prison?" Mallory asked.

Sensing a trap, Tech frowned. He reluctantly replied. "Yes."

"And that if you followed me, you'd just end up in prison with me?"

Again Tech responded with a forced, "Yes."

"Well, guess what, pooch. Look where your precious morality has landed you." Mallory smiled triumphantly. Some things were just meant to be. You could fight it, but you could never win. "In prison. With me."

They had always tugged at each other. He too altruistic to wholly trust the absolute truth of science . . . she claiming that truth and knowledge was the only authority . . . the only true ethic. Tech ascribed to the theory of morality, claiming that scientists earned their right to experiment only at the cost of absolute responsibility. And that responsibility was for the benefit of all. Mallory's smile softened. She and Tech had many such discussions back in their university days . . ..

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'If you treat it as a conjunctive base study and not a separate discipline, you will see how it all fits together. If they taught children number theory first, along with algebra, then geometry, calculus, trigonometry, and all the rest would come very easily to most. The way it is now, it's like trying to teach children to read without first teaching them the alphabet.'

Tech was rambling on about number theory and how it provided a solid foundation for the other sciences. Mallory didn't really pay all that much attention to what he said. It wasn't the words people tended to remember anyway, it was the feelings.

The two of them were walking together through a nighttime wood, far from the stress of academia. A large, harvest moon shone in patches through the trees. Crickets and cicadas thrummed in the background, and in a nearby pond, frogs chirruped to each other. It was dark enough under the trees that she placed her hand on the coyote's arm so she wouldn't stumble. She sighed, glad for her good fortune at finding such a smart tutor. Any topic she cared to discuss, he could expound on. If Tech didn't know the answer, he'd research it for their next discussion. Intriguing that the canid anthromorph would so help her without benefiting from it himself.

Mallory smiled. The moonlight and the talk of quantum physics was turning her head; she was in love. Her heart beat a little faster, and passion gleamed in her eyes. The canine really was the best pet she'd ever had. And even better, he was like a seeing eye dog or other service animal that was allowed even in establishments that normally refused to allow animals in.

.

While Mallory mentally re-walked the moonlit path she nearly trod with Tech, the anthropomorphic scientist remembered the midnight path he nearly trod with her . . ..

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Tech felt a slender hand on his arm and looked down to see Mallory smiling. Her formfitting lab coat, worn over a black miniskirt, and her pale skin positively glowed in the moonlight. The taller anthropomorphic coyote held back a low hanging branch to keep it from tangling in her black hair that was pulled neatly up into a bun. The grad student returned her smile, a seldom felt contentment tugging at his heart. It wasn't often that someone gave him their trust or their friendship, and the coyote was grateful for it. He led her carefully, picking out not only his own steps in the darkening woods, but hers as well. Oblivious to the romantic ambiance of their surroundings, the two continued their scientific discussion . . . Tech picking out the best paths, both the physical ones through the woods as well as the intellectual ones; tracking coming naturally to the canid anthromorph, Mallory trusting him implicitly to guide her safely along.

How was it that he was so starved for friendship? just simple friendship . . . so desperate for it in fact that he nearly let Mallory destroy the most brilliant minds of Acmetropolis? He was so hungry for her kindness that he started down the evil path himself. After all, bad friends were better than no friends at all. He'd convinced himself that her little indiscretions in ethics weren't that severe. And he did try to teach her morality as well as tutor her in other scientific pursuits. Still, he did answer her questions, even when they threatened to lead into ethically grey areas. It wasn't the science that was bad, it was the use to which it was put. And he could turn her to good . . . eventually . . . he hoped. If he tried hard enough. And long enough. And if he didn't give up. And . . . and they were really all just excuses so that he didn't have to lose her friendship.

In the end, when push came to shove, neither one allowed the other to dictate their actions. He stopped her infernal machine . . . but not until the last moment to give her the opportunity to stop herself, . . . or did he wait until the mental transference process actually initiated because he was unsure until the last second which way he'd really choose?

.

Tech shook his head, drawing back from the memory walk that he'd inadvertently shared with his best enemy. He'd hoped never to have to make that choice again. But here they were. Noting Mallory's fingers running lazy designs through his fur, the coyote snarled and pulled away from the melon-headed villainess.

"Face it, dog breath. You're a coyote. You're devious, cunning, and wily. You cannot be trusted . . . and they NEVER will trust you." Mallory firmly clamped the bridge of the coyote's nose with her fingers, smirking when, instinctively, Tech froze under her grip. She forced his olive green eyes to hers, trying to assert dominance. He pulled from her grip. She shrugged and resumed stroking his fur. "You need me. Bad friends are better than no friends at all. You need a pack!"

Tech wasn't a wolf, but maybe he'd have to try the Lone Wolf routine anyway. An inherent sense of loyalty gnawed at him. But perhaps not entirely alone. Mallory had long since ceased listening to anything he had to say, but he would continue his efforts to reclaim her. He hadn't given up. But this time Mallory would have to come to him. He'd no longer follow in her path of greed, jealousy, and betrayal. Though perhaps broken beyond repair, his friendship with the Loonatics had matured him and had firmed his resolve. When still a Loonatic, Tech had occasional nightmares of his teammates discovering his previous wanderings in the darker paths of science . . . of how close he'd come to crossing the line . . . all for the desperate need of a friend. Now, as then, he had no friends. Back in college, his moral fortitude proved stronger than his desperation, but looking at where he ended up anyway it didn't really seem to matter. He was alone again. And he was in prison.

But perhaps not for long.

"Tit for Tat, Mallory. Trust me, . . . as you once did." Forming a steeple with his fingers, Tech tapped them lightly against the tip of his muzzle as he considered the offer he was about to make.

"Trust is for fools." Mallory shook off her reverie. Trust him? Why-ever should she do that? It was all because of the mongrel that her earlier life's work was ruined, and that she was disfigured. Perhaps the pooch was finally cracking. Not that she could truly mock him in it. With the amount of torture he suffered daily it was a wonder he didn't break earlier.

"You know, Mallory, for someone with such a big head, you sure are small minded." Tech resumed his study of the small human. The pinprick emerald glow deep within his eyes flared briefly with his intense concentration. He'd done as much as he could to teach her. Now was time for the final exam. "I found a way to release you."

Mastermind carefully pondered Tech's words, eventually coming to the conclusion that Tech devised a way to help her escape, but not himself. Intriguing. Her heart beat a little faster, and passion gleamed in her eyes. "I'm in."

Yellow Triangle.

"Home, sweet, Acmetropolis!" Ace piloted the old supersonic transport that the Loonatics used so often when they were still just a group of heroes for this one planet. After Zadavia's call telling them of troubling news for the mayor, the anthropomorphic action heroes caught the next wormhole home. Ace cut the jets and the transport settled onto the tarmacadam. "Or more accurately, Home, sweet, City Hall Plaza."

Their first stop had been the Acmetropolis Intergalactic Prison Ship – Station Alpha, but the guardians of the universe found nothing amiss. They'd even looked in on Tech via the security cameras, but at the security guards' suggestion, they hadn't actually gone into the high security block. There was no telling what information the genius might have garnered from a face on confrontation. The warden assured them all was in hand. Now they had an appointment with the mayor herself.

Rev dashed from the sonic transport before Ace could even cut the engines. The roadster hopped rapidly from foot to foot and clapped his hands. Though disappointed that he hadn't been allowed to visit Tech, and even sadder that his best friend hadn't answered any of the letters that the roadster had send, Rev couldn't help but be excited to be back.

"Boy-oh-boy-is-it-good-to-be-home! The-ground-feels-right,-the-old-internal-GPS-is-curved-the-right-way,-the-gloomy-purple-sky-is,-well,-still-gloomy-and-purple." Rev was gone in a blaze around the circular park of Acmetropolis' City Hall Plaza. Trees and shrubs, markers and memorials, color globe street lamps and trails decorated the lawns while the towering, tri-tiered government building loomed behind it. The roadrunner sped down all the pedestrian walkways that divided the park into five sections like a pizza with a hole cut out of the middle. He zipped between the two triton fountains that stood guard at the edge of the park and took several turns around the central pool and its monolithic fountain. "And-here-is-where-I-kicked-up-all-that-water-to-supersaturate-Weathervain's-cloud-creature-when-we-first-fought-her. And-there-is-where-the-mayor-honored-us-all-after-our-first-year-of-protecting-the-planet. And-of-course-Melvin-shrunk-the-whole-place-when-he-got-mad-at-us-for-accidentally-destroying-his-Galactic-Death-Cruiser-because-Lexi-and-I-thought-we-were-playing-a-game,-but-then-Tech-restored-everything-back-to-size. And-OH!-here's-someone-we-haven't-seen-in-a-while."

Rev dashed to a patch of shadow and latched onto the cloaked lady there. He returned them both to where the rest of the Loonatics were just now disembarking from the transport.

"Eh, what's up, Black Velvet?" Ace tried very hard to keep his gaze fixed on the ex-villainess's face. With velvet ebony skin and curves in all the right places, the yellow bunny still thought Black Velvet was hot, but he didn't want to risk a brain blast from Lexi.

"Perhaps, you should ask the speed demon, here." Black Velvet smiled at the Loonatics who had helped so much with her parole. Her smile flickered when she noticed that Tech wasn't among them. Her grey eyes turned to the periodical pad in her hands. She was just on her way home after another few hours of community service and had downloaded the latest copy of 'The Acmetropolis Enquirer – Inquiring Minds Want to Rot' from the news vendor. "So what's this I hear about Tech?"

The Loonatics started at the question. Zadavia and the other planetary leaders had been keeping Tech's betrayal very hush, hush. "How'd you know?"

Black Velvet cocked her head. So the rumors were true? The Loonatics' reaction confirmed it. She wordlessly held out the tabloid to the anthropomorphic heroes.

Ace tentatively took the electronic magazine. There on the front page, sharing headlines with the claim that Acmetropolis' mayor was actually an alien, was the sensationalized headline that the Loonatic's genius was a traitor . . . holographic photos inside. The Loonatic leader scanned the article, finding almost every detail of Tech's arrest and incarceration correct. Ace issued a low whistle. That was some information leak! He placed a hand on the shadow-force wielder's arm. "Eh, look, Black Velvet, just keep outta dis, okay? I know dat Tech restored yer sight and got ya so ya could tolerate da light an' all, and ya might feel obligated ta try ta help him. But none of us wants ta see ya mess up yer parole by trying to spring Tech from da slammer . . . including Tech himself."

Danger Duck rolled his eyes. What was Ace doing? The altruistic leader of the Loonatics was practically issuing an invitation for Black Velvet to try something. The short mallard pushed his way through his teammates and took Black Velvet by the arm. Had the dumb bunny no concept of reverse psychology? He drew the ex-villainess aside conspiratorially, his aquamarine eyes shifting back and forth, his voice low. "You see, Miss Velvet, this is all very top secret, confidential, hush hush. And the information in the tabloid? Just a cover story. That information was leaked on purpose. It's all part of the plan. Now the best thing you can do to help is to just pretend that the 'Acmetropolis Enquirer' just got a hold of another crack-pot story and go about business as usual. Anything else could put us all in a lot of danger."

"You mean Tech is undercover or something like that?" Confusion knotted Black Velvet's delicate brow.

"Eh, er something," Ace agreed. The rest of the Loonatics stood stiff and uncertain, exchanging forced grins and sweating bullets. Ace suddenly pulled himself together. "Rev, take Black Velvet home, den get back here straight away."

As soon as Rev disappeared with his passenger, Ace turned his gaze appraisingly to his anseriform teammate. "Duck, I had no idea that you were such a good liar."

"Liar? Moi?" Danger affected surprise at the accusation. "I'll have you know that ducks are renowned for their upright honesty! as well as their rugged good looks."

"Uh, huh. Top Secret?" Ace reminded.

"Cover story?" Lexi clarified.

"Kkrrn plan?" Slam added.

"The truth, every word of it. Zadavia herself said that the information passed along was top secret. The story made the cover of the tabloid. And all this conspiracy is definitely someone's plan . . . even if we don't know whose." Smiling smugly at his teammates, Danger grabbed the 'Acmetropolis Enquirer' from Ace and began perusing the articles. Indignation suddenly clouded his face. The orange mallard's shouts drew everyone's attention. "That is a bald faced lie!"

The Acmetropolis mayor walked up in time to have Danger Duck shove the tabloid in her face. Having seen the Loonatics delay out on the City Hall Plaza from her office window in the government building, the stately woman grew impatient for them to come to her, so she came to them instead. It was a decision that she was already regretting. The mayor dropped the tabloid as if it were a snake trying to bite her. How odd that the tabloid whose rumors no one believes, actually had two accounts that were true . . . to some extent anyway.

"Misty Breeze does not dye her hair!" Danger continued his tirade, completely oblivious to the mayor's distress. "Her hair is a natural teal."

"Nice ta see ya again, mayor." Ace stepped forward to greet the leader of Acmetropolis. "Zadavia said you've been getting threats. What can we do ta help?"

.

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A/N The Black Velvet references refer to my previous story, "Goodnight, Baby. Good Morning, Hot Stuff." Also on this website.


	9. Chapter 9

Loonatics Unleashed:

"Silent Conspiracy"

(This story is post Season Two – after the cartoon series.)

Rated T for Intrigue.

Disclaimer: Loonatics Unleashed, Duck Dodgers in the 24th and ½ Century, Looney Tunes, and all related Characters and Elements are trademarks of Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Other references, lyrics and quotes belong to their individual artists, authors, copyrights, or trademarks.

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Dispensing with the formalities, the mayor took out a small, palm-sized disk and pressed the play button on it. Rev returned as the recording began to play. Scratchy, and with no accompanying hologram, the recorded voice detailed the lies that the mayor wove about herself. Ace glanced at the tabloid lying on the ground, then back up into the mayor's worried face. No one ever took tabloid news seriously. Why was the mayor so concerned?

An odd look crossed Danger's face. He listened intently, more interested in the stammering voice than in what it said. Suddenly realization struck. "That ain't the recording stuttering, that's Pinkster."

"That's right- That's ri-rig- That's- . . . Got it in one." Stepping out from behind the hedgerow, carrying the biggest load of heat that the Loonatics had seen since their first encounter with the three member gang, was Pinkster and his torpedoes. Or rather Pink the Pug as he liked to be called now. The porcine anthromorph was even shorter than Danger, pink, and had a nasty scowl on his jowls. The equally short Stoney the Stone, in his grey gangster suit and tall hat, and the huge hulk of a man Bugsy the Bug, in his too small black suit and beret hat, flanked him. All three crooks were packing all the ordnance that they could carry . . . and all of it was pointed straight at the Loonatics.

"Pinkster? But . . . but you're in prison! We were just there!" Danger Duck protested flabbergasted.

"What a sap- What a sap- What a . . . palooka." Pink the Pug's face turned even uglier and he clicked off the safety from his handgun.

"Uh, duh boss was right, boss . . .uh . . .." A look of incredible denseness crossed Bugsy's face as he tried to sort out his own words. It was way too confusing having more than one boss.

"Shut up. The Loser-tics were so interested in their traitorous coyote that they totally ignored the rest of us prisoners in the poky."

"Okay, boys, open fi- open fire- open fir- . . .. Shoot them!"

Laser strikes, impact shrapnel, and concussion blasts peppered the ground at the Loonatics' feet. The guardians of the universe scattered, leaping out of the way. The micro-mob only had the three members, and none of them had superpowers. As the Loonatics flipped and rolled through the maelstrom of firepower, their main problem was in apprehending the criminals without using undo force and injuring them. A string of bullet holes striped the side of the Loonatics' supersonic transport.

"Rev, get da mayor ta da safety of her office," Ace ordered. "Slam, set your spin cycle to suction."

As the two Loonatics set to their tasks in whirlwinds of red and purple, Ace brought Duck and Lexi up with him. The corner of the yellow toned bunny's mouth twitched into wry a smile. It was a good thing that he was something of a strategist. Without that and some leadership skills, he could be easily replaced on the team with a laser pistol. Firepower was all well and good, but when it came to differentiation, others of the Loonatics proved more versatile. As soon as Slam dumped the weapons he'd suctioned off of the crooks, the three brain blasted, power egged, and eye lasered the pile into slag.

"AH!" Stoney and Bugsy ran around in hysterics, distracting the Loonatics while their adoptive son surreptitiously removed a remote control from his vest pocket.

At the top of the sunburst-capped monolith fountain, an oval iris opened to reveal a focusing lens. Pink the Pug's sinister laugh echoed around the Acmetropolis City Hall Plaza. "D-d-d-did I forget to mention that those pea-shooters you just slagged were decoy- decoy- dec- red herrings?"

A bright stab of golden lightning jabbed out from the monolith. The radiant energy struck the pavement, splattering rainbow sparks, but not causing any structural damage to the park. Luckily the beam was tightly focused and the effects were gone at the speed of light.

"Whoa! What-is-that?! Never-mind,-I-think-I-know. Not-to-alarm-you-guys-unduly-or-anything,-but-this-really,-REALLY-is-something-to-get-duly-alarmed-at. Whatever-you-do,-just-don't-get-hit-by-the-light!" Rev returned from seeing to the mayor's safety in time to see the debut firing of Pinkster's weapon. The roadster dashed fiery circles around the plaza, trying to draw fire from his teammates without getting hit himself. "'Cause-unless-I-miss-my-guess,-that-is-an-Actinoid-Curium-247-ray-cannon-which-can-strip-the-powers-right-outta-you-before-you-can-say-'Jack-Robinson'-five-times;-which-in-my-case-is-pretty-fast."

"Ya got that right, birdbrain!" Pink the Pug turned his remote control to high scattering the Loonatics again. It had been pathetically easy to mastermind replacing the curium in its security vault with a hologram and then install the real 'McCoy' in the waterworks under the plaza. The porcine gangster indiscriminately fired at whatever Loonatic he could get in his sights. "After we clean up Acmetrop- Acmetrop- this place's super powered trash, we're going after Zadavia and her brother fer starting this whole me- mess- mes- this whole thing. Now hold still so I can blast ya!"

"Duh, uh, Pug? The boss said to let that one Loonatic alone." Bugsy reminded the pink anthropomorphic pig.

"A- a- ask me if I care?" Pinkster's scowl deepened at the reminder. Then letting his lust for revenge get the better of him, Pink the Pug turned the controls, specifically targeting his old pal, Duck. Everywhere that Danger quacked, the curium beam struck. The fowl's shouts of alarm at his multiple near hits brought a smirk to Pinkster's snout. "Hit the duck and win a prise- a prise- a-a-prise- . . . win a trophy!"

"Shut up, the both of yas." Stoney stepped between his two gang members. Revenge added zest to a caper, but being blinded by it was dangerous for any crook. "We's gotta ice these Loonatics before they put us on ice."

"Classification:-Rare-Earth-Crystal-Structure,-curium-is-a-radioactive-element-that-was-discovered-by-Glenn-T.-Seaborg,-Ralph-A.-James-and-Albert-Ghiorso-in-1944. It's-an-isotope-byproduct-of-plutonium-239-after-high-energy-helium-ion-bombardment. Cm-96-is-used-as-an-alpha-particle-source-for-Alpha-Proton-X-Ray-Spectrometers,-and-is-also-an-experimental-thermoelectric-power-source." After the Loonatics' assignment to safeguard the curium back when they first met Danger's old friend, Pinkster, Rev and Tech did some reading up on the substance.

Pink the Pug was so intent on 'powering down' his old bud, that he practically ignored the rest of the Loonatics. The altercation was fast becoming a stalemate. The gangsters couldn't seem to hit the Loonatics or escape, but the anthropomorphic heroes also couldn't get close enough to arrest them. Slam felt particularly useless in this fight. At least Ace and Lexi tumbled and rolled, kicked and chopped, keeping the Terror Trio penned in the center of City Hall Plaza, but all the purple Tasmanian devil could do was spin out of the way and try not to get hit. Even he couldn't spin fast enough to outrun electrons.

If it would save his friends, Slam would gladly take the hit for the team. Of all the Loonatics here, he was the one who could most afford to lose his powers. Sure he'd be sad not to tornado and stuff anymore, but at least he had his wrestling career as a fallback. The others didn't have anything. Prior to super hero-ing, Ace was an under-appreciated movie stuntman, Rev a fast food delivery boy, Danger Duck a pool cleaner, and Lexi a student who failed to make the cheer leading team.

"Actinoid-Curium-247-is-an-isotope-unique-to-the-Merry-Melody-galaxy. With-a-half-life-of-over-a-millennium-and-a-melting-point-of-1613.15-Kelvin,-that's-1340.0 °-Celsius-or-2444.0°-Fahrenheit,-its-not-only-dangerous,-it's-also-pretty-hard-to-get-rid-of." Rev continued his one-sided conversation.

"Half-life!?" Danger Duck puffed. All this quacking was wearing him out, but he didn't dare stop and make himself a stationary target. "What about my WHOLE life! The cosmos is doomed without the might of Danger Duck."

"What-we-really-need-is-some-super-thick-lead-for-shielding,-though-if-we-get-it-far-enough-away-it-wouldn't-affect-us-either-since-the-Inverse-Square-Law,-which-states-that-doubling-the-distance-between-the-radiation-and-the-subject-results-in-only-one-quarter-of-the-radiation-hitting-the-subject,-would-come-into-effect. But-since-we-really-can't-just-abandon-Acmetropolis,-that's-not-really-an-option. Of-course-if-we-could-bury-it-deep-enough,-that-might-do-the-trick-as-well." Rev sped between Bugsy and Stoney, his beak running as fast as his feet. Rev's grin turned cunning. His teammates were more or less used to his rambling, but his rapid fire facts were driving the micro-mob to distraction. He waited a nanosecond until Pinkster clapped his hands to his aching ears, then darted forward. "And-you-don't-really-need-this-now-do-you? So-I-think-I'll-just-take-it-off-your-hands,-thank-you-very-much!"

The rampant energy blasts ceased, but the Loonatics' cheer was cut short when Rev failed to get the cannon powered down. In fact, the whole monolithic fountain began glowing red hot, evaporating the water into clouds of steam.

"You're too late, Loona- Loona- Loona- . . . heroes!" Pink the Pug pulled out a secondary remote control and jammed a stout finger on the self destruct button, locking the Curium Cannon into overload. Only Tech might have had any hope of defusing the cannon that was rapidly turning into a bomb. "You've got thirty seconds until bo- boom- boo . . . until critical meltdown!"

Seeing his chance, Slam powered up his tornado maximizer full force and spun around the monolith fountain-cannon. The devil cut through the concrete base with his vortex and drilled down deep into the foundation below, pulling the Curium Cannon with him.

"Way ta go, Slam!" Ace exchanged a brief hug with Lexi before he caught himself and reverted back into 'leader mode.' "Rev, track Slam on yer internal GPS and tell him when he's deep enough."

"Hurry,-Slam,-you-need-to-go-another-three-thousand-feet-and-you-have-only-a-few-seconds-left-so-need-to-go-faster-or-you-won't-have-time-to-get-yourself-out-of-there-before-it-blows." Rev was practically screaming into Ace's wrist communicator, his still being broken from when he'd ripped it out for Zadavia to use back when they were battling the music villain on Freleng, and then again when he was avoiding Danger. The speedster had gotten Slam's working again okay, but shorted his when he forgot to connect his static band before starting repairs. "And-take-a-couple-of-90-degree-turns-while-you're-down-there. Radiation-travels-only-in-straight-lines-and-the-added-bends-will-absorb-more-of-it."

"Okay, boys and girls, as soon as Slam resurfaces, throw everything you got at the tunnel opening and seal it off ta plug any radiation leaks."

Lexi looked in concern at her watch. "Ace, he's not going to make it. Slam either has time to get the curium deep enough or to stop now and get out of there, but not both."

"Slam! get outta there NOW!" Ace ordered through his wrist communicator. As much as the Loonatics needed their powers, they weren't worth losing Slam's life over. Even if the Tasmanian devil survived the explosion, that deep underground without his powers to spin himself back up to the surface, he'd suffocate before a rescue crew could get to him.

"Ppptttte rrhhng, no way." Slams voice came faint over Ace's communicator, nearly illegible over the noise of his tornado drilling. "Rrhhng ppptttt deep enough."

"Slam, no!" Lexi yelled. "You still have time to get out if you come now!"

"It's a far better thing he does now, than he's ever done before." Striking a melodramatic pose, Danger misquoted the old classic work by Dickens. A brief wind tugged dramatically at his tuft of black feather on his head. The bunnies' ears blew briefly to the side before uprighting themselves again. Steam and dust swirled from the hole where the monolithic fountain used to stand. Seconds ticked by. "Better him than me."

"Duck." It was incredible the amount of disapproval the pink and black clad lagomorph could inject into one word.

"Don't worry, Lexi. We'll hold a banquet in his honor. He'd like that," Danger assured his female teammate. The mallard checked his own watch. Mere seconds before detonation, he powered up a couple of fire eggs to throw at the tunnel entrance.

"Wait, where's Rev?" Ace asked. The Loonatic leader hesitated blocking off the tunnel, knowing that Slam was still down there.

"Right-here,-Ace." The errant breeze that earlier had mussed their ears returned. This time hauling a large purple form with it. When Rev realized that Slam was running out of time, the speedster raced down the tunnel to bring him back. "What-are-you-waiting-for? Seal-off-the-tunnel. Even-though-Actinoid-Curium-247-is-mostly-just-a-danger-to-powered-individuals-like-us,-radiation-is-still-a-carcinogen-that-could-harm-even-ordinary-citizens. And-even-if-in-the-twenty-eighth-century-we-have-good-radiation-decontamination-techniques-and-even-better-medical-treatments,-it's-better-safe-than-sorry."

Just as Ace, Lexi, and Duck sealed off the opening, a dull thump sounded, indicating the cannon detonated far below. A small section of paving, not much larger than a pothole, sank as the tunnel that Slam dug collapsed, completely burying the curium miles below the surface.

"Well, that was somewhat anti-climatic. I was expecting a bigger boom than just a bump that set off a few car alarms." Lexi looked around the City Hall Plaza, then smiled at her teammates. Except for the indent where the monolithic fountain used to stand, they didn't even have much collateral damage. "Not that I'm complaining, mind you. I've had enough excitement for our first day back to Acmetropolis."

"Uh, what do we do, boss? What do we do?" Bugsy twisted his beret style cap in his hands.

"Shut up. The jig is up. We gotta make our getaway." Stunned by the sudden change in their fortunes, the gansters took off running.

"I don't think so, short stack." Ace stood with his fists on his hips. "Lexi, let's you and me take down 'Mutt and Jeff.' Slam and Rev, get da pink munchkin."

"No, Ace. Pinkster was my friend. I'll get him" Danger quacked on top of his childhood pal. "Sorry, pink-stuff. But no one scrambles this duck's eggs."

"Ha! Guardian strike sword, attack!" Ace waited until his teammates rounded up the gangsters then activated his sword. Power snaked out along the ground, crackling around the gangsters and forming a temporary force barrier to contain them.

In next to no time, the micro-mob of Pink, Bug, and Stone was safely encapsulated in gluco-gel ready for their trip back to prison. Bugsy was encased from neck to leather gaiter spats; Stoney and Pink were on his shoulders. While waiting for the police to arrive, Rev took Slam over to the supersonic transport to see what damage it had sustained in the battle.

"Uh, Boss? Da boss sure ain't gonna like dis!"

"Shut up."

Ignoring the other two gangsters, Danger Duck walked up to his one-time friend. "What happened Pork Chop? You didn't used to be like this." Still upset that Pinkster actually turned bad, Danger nonetheless slipped into old habits. Calling his old friend by his nickname seemed to make him less of a criminal.

"This happened." Working a hand free of the gel, Pinkster tossed a holo-cube photo at the action hero duck. Turned one way, it showed the Mayor of Acmetropolis when she gave the Loonatics an award at the one year anniversary of the meteor strike. When turned the other way . . ..

"What? I don't get it." Danger flipped the cube around in his hands. "It's just an old picture of Zadavia and her court, with General Deuce and Rupes Oberon before their betrayals, . . . and the mayor standing in the middle of the front row . . .."

"Y- Y- You don't need super powers to be a super tactical genius to see the mayor's conspira- conspria- . . . subterfuge with Zadavia!" Pink the Pug and his gang not only got a free ticket out of prison in exchange for taking out the Loonatics, but they also got information on the mayor of Acmetropolis and her 'secret dealings' with an alien planet. It only made sense that they sweeten their deal with a little extortion of the mayor for being on Zadavia's court.

The pig's use of the word 'genius' caught like ground glass on the Loonatics' ears and they missed most of what he said. It was incredible to think, but they couldn't help but wonder if Pinkster's higher boss wasn't somehow Tech. But that couldn't be right, could it? If Tech could manage to get the three gangsters sprung from prison, why not himself? And it wasn't like the coyote to use others to do his work for him.

"It was an agree- an agree- a conspiracy between the two planetary leaders. Zadavia got her person put into the Acmetroplolis leadership," the porcine anthromorph insisted.

"No way!" Lexi interrupted. The pink bunny found the gangster's rationalizing nothing but a pack of rational lies. Even if it turned out to be true, the Terror Trio were not as altruistic and patriotic as they claimed. They were still nothing but a gang of thugs jealously trying to steal the Loonatics' powers so that they could more conveniently plunder the populous. "Since she became mayor, she's met the planet's power needs, made it safer from crooks like you, improved the pedestrian infrastructure, reduced taxes, and . . .."

"AND that doesn't change the fact that the mayor's not an Acmetropolis citiz, citiz, citiz, . . . that she's an alien!" Pinkster insisted.

"Old bacon bits has a point, there," Danger murmured to himself. Seeing Ace's stern glare, the mallard quickly spoke up to defend his statement. "No, really Ace, think about it. When Zadavia took refuge under Acmetropolis' waters, the mayor provided the Freleng princess under-the-table access to all of Acmetropolis' security networks. Now it doesn't mean that it was a conspiracy, not a sinister one anyway. And through their cooperation, the citizens of Acmetropolis and Freleng and later even Blanc, were kept safe. Of course, we do that now, so it isn't really necessary anymore."

Ace shook his head and walked away, leaving Danger to trail after him to continue pressing his point. He absolutely refused to argue with the delusional mallard. Zadavia would straighten everything out once they got back. But first he had a few loose ends to tie up. He'd clear it with Tweetums, but he'd like a day or two to make sure the danger here was really past. After turning the micro-mob over to the authorities, the Loonatic leader approached Rev and Slam working on the Loonatics' transport. Slam held the large vehicle above his head while Rev worked on the engine block from underneath. The roadrunner pried out a piece of shrapnel with a pair of pliers. "Eh, what's up, Docs? Besides da transport dat is."

"Okay,-that's-good,-Slam. You-can-put-it-down-now." Rev reconnected a few wires, barely dashing out of the way when the purple Tasmanian devil unceremoniously dropped the transport. It felt odd to be the one in charge and giving orders. Tech usually did that, but the roadrunner was adjusting. "Oh,-Ace,-good-you're-here. Start-it-up-would-you?"

Ace, Lexi, Slam, and Duck jumped into the supersonic transport and Ace punched the ignition. The engine coughed once, then backfired through the ventilation, filling the whole passenger compartment with smoke.

Rev popped open the exterior access panel, then grinned sheepishly. The gadgeteer quickly uncrossed his wiring. "Oops . . .. Shall-we-try-that-again?"

"Yes," Danger quacked out, coughing from the smoke. "This time without the 'oops.'"

Ace tried the ignition again, and this time the transport rose a few inches into the air. "Hey dere, Rev? How about ya going ta visit yer family while we're here? Dat goes for alla ya. Take a little R&R since t'ings are settled down for a bit. Dis is our home planet after all. We can meet back at da old tower in a couple of days."

Yellow Triangle.

"All right Mallory, here's the deal," Tech began. Once the guards finished their rounds, which involved more pain on his part, they left for other duties. The coyote was careful to keep their plans from the guards. The prisoners were monitored at all times, but not all the time by sentient beings. The surveillance equipment, of necessity, was outside the cell. With the distortion and distance provided by the forcedome, they wouldn't be heard as long as they kept their voices down. "As soon as you hit dirt-side, go directly to the old Loonatic Tower. Do not . . .."

" . . . Do not pass 'Go.' Do not collect $200, . . . yeah, yeah I got it." Mallory rolled her eyes at the coyote. Fine that he expected her to be his 'Get out of Jail Free' card, but did the pooch have to lecture? It wasn't like Tech had the Monopoly on good escape plans.

"This isn't a game, Mallory," Tech barked. "You go directly to Loonatic Tower or you go directly to jail. Plain and simple, deviate from the plan . . . ANY part of the plan . . . Mallory, and you will find yourself back in this cell before the day is out."

Tech paused a moment to get back on track. Set on automatic upkeep as only a secondary base, the tower still had full security. Being kept too busy as a guardian of the universe, the genius had never gotten around to dismantling the thing. Mostly, he'd forgotten all about it . . . until now. "Ever since first you, then the Sagittarius Stomper managed to get in, I had to drastically upgrade security at Loonatic Tower. Luckily, I have a hack into the base. The code is C4H10O_bunny."

Mallory stared for the space of a heart beat at the coyote. C4H10O was the chemical formula for ether. An involuntary smile twitched at the corners of her lips. Well, at least the code was easy enough to remember. The small human burst out laughing. "The entry code for Loonatic Tower is 'ether bunny?!'"

"Well, it could be important come springtime . . . especially if you want to have an 'ether' egg hunt," Tech replied with a grin. "Besides, I already used the subordinate 'Santa clause' for the off-site ancillary storage unit."

Mallory dropped her large head into her hands, shaking it at the coyote's non sequitur jokes. Tech obviously suffered from a severe case of 'scientist humor' . . . or, more accurately, SHE was suffering from Tech's sense of humor. "Oh, please, spare me."

"Anyway . . . be sure to take the force globe generator that they brought me in with you to use as a shield against the automated weaponry. It's in the guard station right outside the cell. If you keep the control unit with you, you can raise and lower the shield as needed. Remember to grab a space mask on the way out so you don't suffocate in the vacuum of space. And do not stop to play around! just grab a police cruiser and jet." Desperation made for poor choices; Tech knew that. But he was desperate to find out what was happening on the outside. The prison rumors of Pinkster's gang's recent escape and recapture, and the talk of the Loonatics searching for a hidden base of operations within the prison were troubling. Even when on the premises, his old teammates didn't come to visit him.

Knowledge was power. He absolutely HAD to get more information! And if Tech wanted information, he had get someone outside to help him. In desperation, he decided to release Mallory. He just hoped he wouldn't come to regret the choice. "And don't stay any longer in Loonatic Tower than you absolutely have to. That's the first place the Loonatics will go when arriving in Acmetropolis to stop you. It's mostly stripped down anyway, so you won't be missing much. Anything you absolutely HAVE to have, we can get AFTER you spring me. Grab the green pack from my old lab, and scram; it will have everything in it that you need to get me out of here."

"Stop the lecture already. You're not my tutor anymore, sheesh. I know what to do." Mallory crossed her arms and tapped her foot. Then a hint of sadness touched Mallory's eyes. Tech never had been an overly obedient pet dog, but this stint in the slammer seemed to have hardened him. She feared that if this kept up, she would losing her pet permanently.

"Tit for Tat, Mallory." Tech sternly tapped the tiny human on her big forehead, reminding her of their morality discussions and discreetly warning her not to betray him. Then the coyote awkwardly brushed back a lock of Mallory's black hair, surreptitiously placing one of his refined vegi-bots in her ponytail tie. This particular one was the finest, most sturdy one he'd created. "Ready?"

"Ready," Mallory replied with a curt nod of her big head. Or at least she thought she was ready. Seeing a snarling, half-feral coyote leap for her throat made her duck even if the fight was planned. Just in time, she remembered to straighten up as Tech's lunge carried him past her and, using his momentum 'against' him, the small human shoved him into the containment barrier. The coyote fried in it, falling to ash. But the forcefield did short enough to allow Mallory to get out. The girl screamed when she hit the barrier just moments after the dog. The forcefield was already charging up again, but at least it didn't incapacitate her. That was why Tech couldn't escape himself; he couldn't recover fast enough to make it through. Without a backward glance, Mallory grabbed the force globe generator controls from the guard station and took off for the exit.

.

A/N No, I did not make up the fact that the mayor of Acmetropolis is an alien. I got the idea from the cartoons themselves. If you want to see the two photos that Pinkster showed to Danger Duck, the one is in the episode "The Meteor Cometh" during the awards ceremony and the other can be seen in the episode "The Music Villain" when Oberon is recounting a flashback to Zadavia.


	10. Chapter 10

Loonatics Unleashed:

"Silent Conspiracy"

(This story is post Season Two – after the cartoon series.)

Rated T for Intrigue.

Disclaimer: Loonatics Unleashed, Duck Dodgers in the 24th and ½ Century, Looney Tunes, and all related Characters and Elements are trademarks of Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Other references, lyrics and quotes belong to their individual artists, authors, copyrights, or trademarks.

.

[Ow!] From his smoldering ashes, Tech brought up a sign à la his ancestor, Wile E. Coyote.

"Dude . . .." From his cell across the way Sypher stared dumbfounded. "Are you Looney?!"

Tech grunted a reply as his molecular regeneration restored him. "Getting there."

The folktale that ages ago Anthro-sapiens used to be able to produce such signs, as well as a great many other unique phenomena, was just a myth. No more to be believed than the ancient Greek and Roman mythology, but now the canid scientist wasn't so sure. Perhaps when the meteor struck, it hadn't so much given them powers as it reawakened and enhanced what already lay dormant within them.

Tech looked down, but there was no sign of the sign. He snorted. The extreme circumstances he was forced to endure here in prison were finally getting to him. He was starting to hallucinate. And Sypher's outburst? probably just disbelief that anyone would help someone else to escape when he couldn't free himself . . . not not about some nonexistent sign at all.

Still, there were times when the genius could have sworn that he saw hearts in Danger's eyes when faced with his dream girl, Misty Breeze. That and Rev still claimed that the duck temporarily lost his beak when they were taken aboard Melvin's ship the first time they encountered the Martian. Tech curled over in pain, the thoughts of his ex-friends more painful than the prison barrier. And no amount of regenerating healed this pain. Roughly shoving aside his memories, the scientist concentrated on the task at hand.

Tech crawled into his den constructed of books, taking out a particularly thick physics text. Tech shook his head as the penitentiary alarm went off. From the sounds of it, Mallory couldn't resist setting at least one of her robotic contrivances to cover her escape. The genius just hoped that his one time pupil made it planet-side before her recapture. He set the book aside as the two guards who were on duty rushed into the high security cell block. After a few moments' confusion at finding the ex-hero still there, the guards called in that no, it wasn't the coyote that escaped, but Mastermind. After checking the security of the block, the guards left to help in the search. Prison Station Alpha was in space. The villainess couldn't get far.

Once the guards left, Tech got right to work on 'Plan B,' not waiting for 'Plan A' to fail. With so much at stake, he couldn't afford to rely on only one strategy. Tech opened the thick book as if to read, but instead took out one of his completed vegi-bots. He was quite proud of his new inventions, . . . his babies. To protect them, the coyote had torn out the middles of the pages to form a hollow spot in the book's center. It was a great hiding space.

Tech charged the small, flower-like drone and set it in one of the cell's knockout gas holes. The small vegetable-robot hobbled through the pipe losing vegetable and casein 'pedals' along the way. It barely made it out the other end before falling completely apart. It took half a dozen of the fragile vegi-bots to reach the guard station's control panel. Luckily he'd made plenty. A few just fell apart, but each time one failed it was a little further along in his project. Also luckily, the cell wasn't designed specifically for him. Mallory's power was basically restricted to what she could touch. His was longer range. Between his little 'babies' and his magnetic powers, the coyote was making progress.

"It's dead, Jim." Tech murmured the misquote to himself as he worked on compartmentalizing the prison computer network, but then he answered himself as well. "It's worse than dead . . . it's been virtual-ized!" The coyote genus' virtual computer, like a regular computer server that wasn't really a computer in and of itself, was just a compartment on one. Having designed and built the penitentiary's computers, Tech knew it had enough processing cores to handle another virtual system. Once he allocated a disk for it, he'd be set. The prison staff would never even know he was in their system. Soon. Just another couple of key strokes . . ..

The elevator door at the end of the hall opened again and one of the guards strode back to the guard station for his pack of gum that he forgot. Scattered bits of food covered the control panel. "What the? . . ." muttering curses at his fellow guard for snacking on the job . . . without sharing with him, no less . . . the guard swept off the mess into a trash receptacle. Seeing the computer screen active, he shut down the link that his obviously his clumsy partner bumped on. Not sparing a second glance to the remaining prisoners, the guard ran to resume the search for Mastermind.

Tech briefly closed his eyes, drew a steadying breath, and patiently started over. "More speed, less haste," he rehearsed to himself, trying to keep his efforts focused and concentrated on the task. He had only until the enforcers recaptured Mallory to get it done. Once she was back in, they would no longer be distracted. Of course, if Mallory followed the plan and actually busted him out, then all of this was superfluous anyway. He hoped it would be the case, but he had little faith in his so-called partner.

Red Triangle.

A red hued roadrunner walked into Acmetropolis' Loonatic Tower living room and Ace glanced up from his electronic clipboard. Man! he hated paperwork. But he had to get the report on Pinkster and mob done before they left for Blanc. At least he'd found no indications of a hidden base of operations at Prison Station Alpha like Otto the Odd had when the showman villain had hired The Hunter to try to capture the Loonatic leader.

Wait a minute, . . . walk? . . . Rev?! That wasn't right. The Loonatic leader set aside the prison security report that he was perusing and went to his troubled teammate. "Eh, what's up, doc? Ya're back early. We didn't expect ya back from yer folk's until tanight."

"Yeah,-well,-pop's-pretty-busy-with-his-gadget-selling,-and-mom-has-this-civic-club-to-make-seed-muffins-for,-and . . .-and-it-was-really-that-they-just-kept-going-on-and-on-and-on-about-Tech-being-in-prison-and-how-that's-where-he-belongs-and-that-it-was-about-time-someone-leashed-that-animal-and-how-dangerous-and-untrustworthy-he-is-and-how-they-can't-believe-that-I-ever-even-let-a-coyote-in-the-house. It-got-a-bit-wearing." Rev sighed. If it hadn't been for his little brother, Rip, he'd have been back yesterday. "I-don't-know. Maybe-mom-and-pop-are-right. Maybe-Tech-never-really-was-the-friend-that-I-thought-he-was."

"Ya don't believe dat, Rev." Ace put a hand on the speed demon's shoulder. "And neither do I. Whatever happened ta turn Tech bad, he wasn't always like dis."

" . . . _Just what we all need, More lies about a world That never was and never will be. Have you no shame, don't you see me? You know you've got everybody fooled . . .._" Small, pink energy circles ran up Lexi's ears and she took off her music blaster earphones, cutting short the song "Everybody's Fool." The music group, Effervescence, was usually a little too Gothic Metal for her, but she'd been in the mood for it lately. She could hear Ace and Rev's conversation over the music still coming over her music player. " . . . _Never was and never will be, You don't know how you betrayed me. And somehow you've got everybody fooled. Without the mask, Where will you hide? Can't find yourself, Lost in your lies . . .._"

The pink bunny hopped up from the couch to lend her support to her dejected teammate, but stopped when a rather pretty hair-clip on the floor caught her eye. The bunny picked up the intricate pink rose, shaking her head at Danger's oddities. The mallard was always getting into her stuff. It was about time he got some of his own. She set it on the round table in the living room and followed Ace and Rev into the old command center. As the heat of Lexi's hand dissipated, the small rosebud 'bloomed' and made it's way spider-like across the tabletop.

"Ace?-I've-been-thinking . . .." Rev paused, a bit nervous about broaching the subject.

"It's a good pastime. Ya should do it more often." Ace paused, his cocky grin telling the runner that he was teasing. When Rev didn't raise to the bait but remained pensive, Ace relented. "Alright, Rev, t'inkin about what?"

"Tech."

A pained expression settled on Ace's face. The yellow bunny wished that Rev would quit asking. With those big roadrunner eyes, he was going to crack soon.

"No,-no-no,-just-listen,-Ace, please," Rev hastily cut off any negating response the bunny might have. Though his folks were adamant about how evil coyotes were, not all of his family was. "When-I-was-home,-Rip,-you-remember-him,-right?-my-little-brother?,-anyway,-Rip-asked-me-if-I-gave-up-on-my-friend-just-because-he-did-something-stupid-and-got-himself-thrown-in-jail. Because,-Rip-said,-that-he-was-just-glad-that-I-hadn't-given-up-on-him,-even-when-he-stole-the-bio-tech-parasite-and-nearly-destroyed-the-city-and-even-fought-against-me. It-got-me-thinking. I-would-never-give-up-on-my-little-brother . . . either-of-them. Even-though-Tech-isn't-my-real-little-brother,-he's-like-a-brother-to-me-and-he-is-a-Loonatic . . .."

"WAS a Loonatic!" Danger Duck interjected. Though much of the command center was stripped, the mallard was answering a fan letter from Lzs_myth8 at a small computer terminal. He tapped closed the e-mail program and stretched. Looking down, he noticed a small rose ornament at the base of the chair he sat in. Danger picked it up. Responding to the heat of the mallard's hand the pink rose folded itself into a bud. Huh? Cool!

Rev spared Danger an annoyed look, but continued to press his case. " . . . and-as-such,-the-Loonatics-should-see-to-his-rehabilitation. It's-up-to-us-to-help-Tech. Especially-if-he-is-behind-all-the-bad-stuff-going-on-here-and-on-Freleng. And-since-the-incidences-are-getting-worse-and-more-severe-all-the-time,-we-have-to-rein-in-the-coyote-and-we're-the-ones-best-suited-for-the-job."

"Maybe ya're right." Ace ran a hand through his ears. He'd been awfully hard-nosed lately. The Loonatic leader wondered a little guiltily if Tech wasn't writing because he, in the heat of the moment, told the coyote not to. As guardians of the universe, the Loonatics did have a responsibility to the cosmos, but Rev was right. They also had a responsibility to Tech.

"And-I, . . ." Rev stalled. "I'm-right? Really?"

"Right? Rev? Well, I suppose there's a first for everything." Danger set the rose on the command center console. He'd have to tell Lexi about leaving her ear-clips lying around . . . or maybe he'd just keep it for himself. 'Finders, keepers; losers, weepers,' after all. But later. If the others were talking about their disenfranchised coyote, he wanted in on the discussion. The mallard quacked over to his teammates. Unnoticed, the rose opened out again. "Of course, if I were leader, Tech wouldn't have been a problem in the first place."

Rev scowled at Danger. On the far side of the command room, the door to Tech's old lab swished open forestalling the two avians' argument. An ominous thumping, as of giant footfalls, sounded from within.

.

"Sorry, dog breath, you'll have to escape on your own." The mocking, sing-song voice was followed by maniacal laughter. When Mallory escaped, she did as Tech told her to do, . . . at least mostly. With Tech's code, entering Loonatic Tower was as simple as walking in the front door. She'd found the green pack in the lab just like the coyote said, but instead of leaving to release him, she couldn't resist looking around. Most of the stuff was gone, but what was left was a treasure of trash. The technopathic villainess had gotten to work on it right away.

Mallory stepped into Loonatic Tower's command room to see what she could salvage there, but stopped short. Crud! The Loonatics arrived much sooner than she anticipated. It was like they were already there waiting for her! Maybe she should have stuck to the mongrel's plan after all.

"I can make anything fun!" Too big to fit through the lab door, a reanimated, gigantic Robo Amigo burst through the wall behind the big headed villainess.

"We got BIG trouble, Slam, get up ta da command room, pronto." Ace issued the command through his wrist communicator. "Mastermind's here."

Almost as fast as Rev himself, the Tasmanian devil arrived in a purple whirlwind. He still held a couple of massive dumbbells that he'd been using while weightlifting in his old room.

The command room's ceiling was high enough to easily accommodate the robot's towering height, but the circumference was a bit tight. With every swing, the Robo Amigo knocked car-sized divots out of the walls, shattering windows and computer monitors in its wake. Between falling masonry and the stomping of over-sized metal feet, the Loonatics were finding it hard to keep in one piece.

Slam threw his weights at the gigantic Robo Amigo trying to knock its block off. They bounced harmlessly off the yellow robot. Running forward, Mallory encased them with her technopathy power, adding them into the robot's fists to give its blows more punch. The Tasmanian Devil brought his fists together, summoning his thunder mode. Alternating between vacuum and gale force winds, the purple devil blasted the robot's joints to seize them up and suctioned up all the debris as it fell so it wouldn't crush his teammates.

Stepping into Ace's interlaced hands, Lexi springboarded into the air, tucking into a flip and snapping out a kick aimed at the side of the giant robot's head. The pink hued bunny added a brain blast for good measure. The combined force of kick and blast spun the automation's head around on its shoulders one hundred and eighty degrees. It reached up with both hands to stop its spinning head.

Having launched himself into the air right behind Lexi, Ace shot laser strikes against the Robo Amigo, shattering many of its sensors even as he extended his Guardian Strike Sword. The yellow and black clad bunny landed briefly on the robot's torso, bounding between it and the nearby wall until he was high enough to slice his sword through the metal shoulder. One huge, robotic arm broke away from the robot, but again Mastermind's power flared to life to reattach it.

"Wohoo! missed me! No pressed duck for you! Try again." Danger Duck quacked about the robot's feet, taunting it, sticking his fingers in his ears and poking out his tongue. "What's the matter? Can't even stomp a duck?"

"This is not fun!" The Robo Amigo stomped around trying to crush the annoying fowl. But every time it did, an orange ball-lightning effect teleported the duck to a different spot. A web of cracks developed around the automaton's feet. One more stomp and the center of the floor gave way, the mass and momentum of the robot plunging it down through three stories.

"Duck!" Ace, Lexi, and Slam dove down after it to help their teammate who'd disappeared with the mechanical monstrosity.

Mastermind rushed to the edge of the hole to see what was going on and to perhaps animate another automation to assist the first. In a red blur, Rev dashed against the big-headed villainess. The speedster came up behind Mastermind and, faster than the eye could see, removed all metal from off her person. He then pinned her arms against her sides and lifted her off her feet.

"Let me go you overgrown, molting chicken! So help me, I'm going to animate every gadget and gizmo on you and then tear you apart with them!" Mastermind flung her huge head back to smack the roadrunner's beak with it, but the red clad Loonatic was too fast and just moved his own head out of the way. Light blue power crackled from the villainess to envelope the roadster, but Mallory's machine animating ability found nothing to bring to life. "What?! You aren't wearing any devices at all? What kind of an action hero are you, anyway?"

"The-kind-of-action-hero-who-gets-stuff-broken-in-every-battle-he's-in-but-doesn't-have-the-time-or-perhaps-quite-the-right-skill-set-to-put-it-all-back-together-again. From-the-looks-of-it-this-battle-is-going-the-same-way. It'll-take-months-to-get-all-this-damage-cleared-away. And-I'm-not-a-chicken,-I'm-a-roadrunner!" Rev tightened his hold on the villainess. "Ow! Guys,-hurry-up-with-that-Robo-Amego! She's-kicking-me!"

It didn't take the Loonatics long to dismantle the Robo Amigo. And without Mastermind to animate more machinery against them, they soon had her back up to the Acmetropolis Intergalactic Prison Ship where she belonged.

Rev was delighted, despite the bruises on his shins from where the big-headed villainess had kicked him. He was getting to see Tech after all.

Tech and Mallory snarled at each other when Mastermind was dumped back in their cell. Danger smirked. At least they didn't have to worry about the two villains being confederate.

Tech moved to the near wall of the forcefield dome, a desperate longing in his olive green eyes. His tail twitched slightly in a tentative, hopeful wag. Rev moved forward as well, his plumage ruffled. But before the two could even exchange greetings, an announcement blared over the vid-com screen with an urgent message for the Loonatics, and they were rushed out to the warden's office to receive it.

"Mallory Casey! What do you keep in that bloated head of yours? Bubble memory?!" Tech turned on Mallory; his near visit with his ex-teammates indurated him further. "I told you to stick to the plan, or you'd be back here so fast that it'd make your fat head spin!"

Yellow Triangle.

"What's going on here?" Ace led the Loonatics at a run for the warden's office. "I was hoping dat da royal highness would avoid all da trouble."

"If Tech hurts the little feather duster, I'm gonna serve him a couple of extra large, farm fed, sunny side up eggs . . . Danger Duck style!" Danger's eyes glowed orange, but he refrained from actually forming said eggs in the halls of Prison Station Alpha. The mallard would quack over to take the small, yellow bird's call personally, but he didn't know where the warden's office was. Frustrated, he had to content himself with running flatfooted behind his teammates, breathing out threats of retribution.

"But how could he harm Tweetums?" Lexi put on a little extra spurt of speed, but couldn't overtake her fleet footed leader. Oddly enough Rev hung to the back of the group, going at only a fast walk. "It was Mastermind who escaped, not him. Tech is in his cell."

"I dunno guys, but I have ta go with da Duckster on dis one." Ace worried over the plot that was unfolding in their little corner of the universe. The Loonatics seemed to be fighting an information syndicate on at least three of the four premier planets. Each incidence was disparate, but they seemed to all link ominously together somehow. "Foist, secret messages are detected since us Loonatics moved to Blanc. After Tech is arrested, da Music Villain and his puppet band nearly topple Freleng. Den da Pinkster gang try ta ruin Acmetropolis' mayor as well as our super powers. And now, Tweetums calls saying it's urgent. It's beginning to look like all dese attacks on da governments are co-ordinated. I hate ta say it, but I'm beginning ta t'ink dat Tech really is somehow behind it all."

"Rrhhng don't," Slam garbled.

Rev flashed a smile over at the purple devil. He appreciated Slam's vote of confidence, though he didn't dare voice his own opinion for fear of being accused of letting his feelings for the coyote cloud his judgment. Which, if he were honest with himself, might very well be the case.

"_That puddy tat is very bad, he sneaks up from behind. I don't think I would like it if I knew what's on his mind. I have a strong suspicion that his plans for me aren't good. I'm inclined to think that he would eat me if he could!_" As they neared the warden's office, the Loonatics heard a familiar little voice singing. Danger rolled his eyes. So help him, if the little mustard stain sent a priority distress call without being in trouble, he'd serve those eggs to that pain in the tail feathers! "_I taut I taw a puddy tat a creepin' up on me. I did! I taw a puddy tat as plain as he could be!_"

"In-any-case," Rev added to the conversation, "We-should-make-a-sweep-of-the-old-Acmetropolis-base-to-ensure-that-Mastermind-didn't-sabotage-it-or-anything-before-we-head-back-to-Blanc."

"That will have to wait, I'm afrwaid." Tweetums cut off the song he was singing to bolster his confidence when he saw the Loonatics enter the office. Though it was night on the side of Acmetropolis where the Loonatics were, at Grand Central Wormhole it was still light. A huge, mauve honeycomb showed in the hologram background behind the little monarch of Blanc. "Oooh, hurrwy Loonatics! Sir Duck, you must save me! Grannicus and Slyth Vester have escaped. They've trwapped me here in Wormhole Central and are trwying to get in even as we speak! I'm initiating a wormhole to brwing you strwaight here."

As a wormhole formed right outside the prison ship, a loud crash sounded over the vid-screen and the Loonatics saw billows of smoke roiling in to engulf the tiny monarch. They heard a final cry of 'Hurrwy!' through the crackling of the holographic connection, then even that was gone.

"No time ta lose, gang. Let's jet!"

Not even waiting for a ship to take them, the Loonatics jetted into the swirling 'Merry Melody' maelstrom of the wormhole. Since Lexi's enviro-suit's jet wings were still in the repair pile back in their Blanc headquarters, the pink bunny hitched a ride with Ace. It was an arraignment they both found pleasant despite the seriousness of the situation. At least the rest of her enviro-suit still worked.

Smooth streamers of multicolored gravity distortions whisked the five anthromorphs through the space-time continuum, past fleeting swarms of meteors and through the Foghorn Leghorn and the Pepe LaPew nebulae. Abruptly, fluctuations sparked through the wormhole, distorting it and sending the team careening out of control. Screams echoed around the tunnel. Ace tried to hang on to Lexi as the Loonatics were battered unconscious, the two bunnies protecting each other the best they could. Even so the gravitational fluctuations still ripped them apart. If it wasn't for their enviro-suits, the Loonatics would never have survived the torque stresses of the malfunctioning wormhole. The whirlwind ride ended abruptly and darkness smacked into them.

Yellow Triangle.

"Hurry, we must secure them before they awaken!"

The voice sounded somehow familiar, though Ace was unsure through the ringing in his head. The Loonatic leader felt a touch at his eyes, soft and gentle. But when he tried to move his hand to feel who was there, he found a pressure at his wrists and ankles. The touch turned harsh as a blindfold was tightly bound around his head.

Grannicus' tittering laughter pulled Ace fully conscious. Ugh! He felt as if he'd been half torn apart. If it wasn't for his enviro-suit he just might have been. Though upright, the Loonatic leader was held spread-eagle against some sort of wall. He struggled, but found he couldn't move. And try though he might, Ace couldn't open his eyes even enough to laser blast the blind fold.

The gentle touch returned. This time the soft hand caressed his cheek. Grannicus' sweet granny voice fell dead on the still air . . . as if the prison that the yellow hued bunny now found himself in had no bounds.

"Oh, shh, shhh, shhh . . . hush now. There's a good little bunny. It's best not to struggle, Ace. Without the use of your laser vision, it's quite useless you know." Grannicus' voice turned harsh as she continued to taunt the Loonatic responsible for her earlier failure to take over Wormhole Central. The deposed queen of Blanc patted the yellow furred check a couple of times, then slapped the bunny sharply. "You have the royal Tweetums to thank for your current predicament. That annoying tiny tyrant made me his nursemaid all those years ago while the royal family was exiled. The medical tape I used to seal your eyes shut turned out to be very useful."

Disturbing hisses and clanks, booms and bangs reached Ace's long ears. It was as if not being able to see heightened his sense of hearing. The bunny's blood ran chill at a sinister, deep voiced chuckle.

"One bird's about a good as another, so I'm told. Mmmmm, I think I'll just find out!"

Slyth Vester! Ace hissed between his teeth. He'd recognize that conniving, two-faced feline's voice anywhere!

"And this one is much bigger than the royal finger snack!"

"Put him down!"

That was Lexi's voice! The doe bunny's voice scaling up toward hysteria triggered a corresponding panic in Ace. The huge, bionically enhanced tomcat wouldn't actually _eat_ one of his teammates, would he?

"If your harm one feather on him, so help me I'll brain blast you where . . .." Lexi's threat cut off in a scream of pain.

"Lex? Lexi! Danger! Slam! Rev!! Anybody!" Going frantic at not being able to see what was happening, Ace yelled for his teammates. The Loonatic leader felt sick. The two bunnies hanging on to each other when the wormhole was rerouted must have protected them, and they were the first to wake up. Ace just hoped that they weren't the only ones who would awaken. "Lexi, answer me, say something!"

"Oh, Slyth, do quit playing. We still have to catch the royal Tweetums before he can cause us any more trouble. Come along." Grannicus's voice sounded impatient. "Or I shall just have to leave you here with the Loonatics."

"I'm coming, I'm coming already." Grumbling about another fine missed meal, Slyth complied. As much as he'd like roast hero for dinner, he didn't want to be imprisoned here with the Loonatics.

"There, that's a good kitty." Grannicus confidentially leaned close to Ace once more, the silk of her once royal robes brushing against him. "Slyth Vester really is a bad old puddy tat! . . . I'm so proud of him!"

Ace frantically yanked against his bindings, yelling hoarsely. But he only got laughter, the sound of the Loonatics' defeat, in reply.

Then silence. Except for his own yells falling dead in the darkness.

Yellow Triangle.


	11. Chapter 11

Loonatics Unleashed:

"Silent Conspiracy"

(This story is post Season Two – after the cartoon series.)

Rated T for Intrigue.

Disclaimer: Loonatics Unleashed, Duck Dodgers in the 24th and ½ Century, Looney Tunes, and all related Characters and Elements are trademarks of Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Other references, lyrics and quotes belong to their individual artists, authors, copyrights, or trademarks.

.

Upon emerging from the wormhole, Grannicus stepped up to the pedestal-like central control panel in the heart of Wormhole Central. The elderly human took Blanc's royal scepter from its key slot in the console, then removed the royal jewel that acted as the ignition power source from its wiffle-ball top. Suspended in the center of the hollow, honeycombed sphere that served as the wormhole coordinate finder, the steel blue wormhole generator powered down, folding in on itself. The wormhole dissipated, trapping the Loonatics in the prison dimension where Grannicus left them.

"I have the royal scepter and the royal power jewel." Grannicus held the tools of universal rulership high. "Now I shall go claim the throne as well!"

"Uh, queenie, thatss not the boss'ss plan," Slyth Vester sputtered, spraying spittle with his words. "Remember, we were supposssed to open . . .."

"I AM my own boss!" Anger distorted Grannicus' face. Slyth cowered before the ex-queen. Though well muscled and taller even than most humans, Slyth was still something of a fraidy-cat. The soon-to-be queen of Blanc calmed herself, straightening her spectacles and patting her two poof knots of white hair to contain any loose strands. "We are freed from Blanc's dungeons; that is enough. I have no further use for our so-called 'boss.'"

"Right, Queen Grannicusss!" The huge black and white tomcat followed the elderly human lady as she confidently strode out of Wormhole Central to claim her destiny. Sure the Royal Tweetums manage to give them the slip when they finally broke into Wormhole Central, but he was a cat for crying out loud! Plus, being born and raised on Blanc, Slyth knew the hollow planet like the back of his paw. Without the Loonatics to interfere, he'd catch the little yellow finger snack no problem. The large feline rubbed his armored hands together. "Finally after losing all my back teeth, being locked in a particle accelerator, dipped in molecular acid, and sucked into a black hole all due to the little yellow flying rodent's pranks, I get the royal pain in the tail for a snack, and you get the throne. Mwah ha ha ha ha ha! We shall soon have Tweetumsss. Blanc. The whole universsse!"

"And with the Loonatics taken care of . . . permanently, there is no one to stand in our way! Grannicus tittered happily. "Those disrupted wormholes certainly are are killers!"

"Oh darn. Now I'll never get my gaming partner back." The puny, cannonball headed Martian made even Danger Duck look tall in comparison. General Melvin, flanked by both his robotic dog, Sergeant Sirius, and his own special robotic Centurion task force, leveled his disintegrator ray gun at the duo emerging from Wormhole Central. Though truly upset that he'd been denied the honor of destroying his enemies personally, the loose cannon was at least glad that now the way lay open before them. The Martian general felt Queen Tyrr'henia move up close behind him, distracting him from his war plans.

"Oh, fibbity gibbit!" Hearing the Martian's lament, Grannicus looked up to see the combined armies of the premier planets arrayed against her. Grannicus slowly raised her hands, still holding the royal scepter tightly. Not only Tweetums with his entire egg-army had her in their sights, but Optimatus and his techno-forces as well. Zadavia stood beside the Royal Tweetums in his miniature, flying chariot.

"Drwop your weapons and surrwender at once!" Tweetums ordered. The bright yellow canary was decked out in his light blue and gold battle tunic and egg shaped helmet. He held a small, purely ornamental, Blancian scepter in his left hand as a symbol of his authority.

Quickly gathering up her long skirt on one hand, Grannicus fled back into the wormhole control nexus. If she could activate a wormhole, she could escape! A contained wormhole might be a tad unpleasant to travel through without a vehicle or some sort of personal body armor, but certainly not fatal like an uncontrolled one would be.

Optimatus leaped after the fleeing usurper. Seeing the saber flash down towards her, Grannicus screamed. But the sword's arc continued forward beyond her as Optimatus jambed his guardian strike sword in the operating mechanism much as Ace had before when fighting Deuce, temporarily locking the device so the ex-queen could not escape. This wasn't his original sword. He'd picked up a replacement from the Hall of the Guardians back on Freleng when they came in answer to this threat. His had been stolen by Deuce and was lost with the turncoat when Ace banished him through a random wormhole back during the invasion of Blanc. Optimatus was glad they arrived in time. The Martians had issued the call to arms early. His Frelengian forces were over halfway to Blanc before Tweetums could call them for help.

Zadavia approached, taking the scepter and jewel from Grannicus and returning them to Blanc's rightful heir while the Martians looked avidly on. Realizing the futility of battling at this point, Grannicus surrendered. "Oh dear. My benefactor will be quite upset about this."

"No doubt," Melvin the Martian intoned. There was nothing he hated worse than a failure in their job . . . even if that failure worked to his advantage.

"Uh, pardon me, your highnessess-ss, sirss and madamss, do you think you can let me go? I'm not really with this baddy. She made me help her." Seeing no leniency from the assembled rulers, Slyth Vester went down on his knees before them. "Aw, come on guys, can't you turn the other cheek?"

"We already did and you slapped it." Zadavia crossed her arms across her chest and glared sternly at the feline anthromorph. She clearly remembered her Loonatics accepting the tomcat's offer of help during Blanc's previous invasion and Slyth Vester's subsequent betrayal of them.

"Yeah, we're running out of cheeks here." Tweetums agreed whole heartedly with his Frelengian friend.

"Indeed. A rather cheeky reply." Melvin added as Tweetums ordered his egg troopers to take the two usurpers way.

"Suffering Succotash! Chicken Alfredo, you're ALL despicable!"

"You have no right to judge me! None of you." Fury that she would again be imprisoned flared hot in Grannicus' cheeks. "You are no different from me, each and every one of you petty monarchies are angling for a monopoly. What difference from when Optimatus wanted to conquer all new life, new planets, and new civilizations and what you are doing now in suppressing them . . . grooming them to your own ends. The Acmetropolis Mayor is confederate. The Royal Tweetums is confederate. Zadavia is outwardly kind and beneficent, . . ."

"And extremely hot . . . uh, ahem." Slyth fell silent at the glares he received.

". . . while Optimatus was harsh, but with this new governing coalition of premier planets, you are effectively doing the same thing!" Anything else Grannicus had to say was lost as the egg troopers took her and Slyth Vester away. Silence reigned for a few moments between the assembled planetary leaders.

"My, . . . that was unpleasant." Queen Tyrr'henia ran an elegant ebony hand through her long, stark white hair. Had the Martians mouths with which to smile, they might have exchanged smirks. All was going according to plan; and it was no loss to them that they sacrificed their pawns. Well, almost all according to their contingency plan at any rate.

Tyrr'henia already regretted the loss of that extremely handsome Danger Duck. Sadness and concern still clouding her pale violet eyes, Queen Tyrr'henia turned to address her fellow rulers. "Freleng, Acmetropolis, and now Blanc, . . . all of your planets barely escaped political takeover. I fear that the Martian empire is next on our mysterious attacker's agenda. The Loonatics have fallen. Without them to defend us as they did your planets, we and all our scientific advances will fall victim to his schemes. There are dark and dangerous forces at work in this corner of the cosmos."

"Ooooh, verwy dark and mean forces," Tweetums agreed with a shudder. Even if no one would particularly mourn the Martian's fall, no one wanted the genius behind all these attacks to gain access to the whole of Martian technology.

"We shall defend you, Queen Tyrr'henia." Optimatus stepped forward. Offering the services of his Techno-forces was the least he could do in payment for all of the Martians' assistance in these troubled times. "Between my Techno-forces and Tweetum's egg troopers, you have no cause to fear."

"Oh, may we really move our fleet in closer in for protection?" Tyrr'henia simpered. The Martian queen nearly melted at the tall, handsome Frelengian prince's generous offer. "With all our subsidiary planets, the only way to topple the Martian empire is to 'topple' the queen herself. Between all three of our forces, surely none will get through to me."

And of course none of the Martian's holdings were allowed armaments lest they rebel against their masters. Zadavia frowned, thinking that inviting the Martians that close to Blanc was tantamount to an open invitation for invasion. But then she sighed. Perhaps it was just the betrayals in her own life that were making her think this way. She had her suspicions about the Martians' intent, but that was all they really were. Through it all, Queen Tyrr'henia had been nothing but straightforward and open in her dealings. Plus the Martians seemed genuinely surprised and upset about the Loonatics' demise.

The Loonatics . . . gone. Now that the extremity of the situation was past, the full implications of the loss hit her. Even before she assembled the Loonatics, Zadavia always knew there was the possibility of losing them to one evil or another. But as the years passed with the heroes overcoming every threat, the possibility pressed itself less and less on her thoughts until she rarely even considered it anymore.

And the princess had made one fatal error. At first she had held herself distant and aloof from the Loonatics, dealing with them only in hologram projections. But as they shared more and more disasters and triumphs together, she had allowed her heart to grow entwined around those six individuals. A heart that now threatened to shatter in their absence.

". . . one other precaution I insist that we take." Queen Tyrr'henia's next words postponed Zadavia's decent into misery. "The coyote traitor must be turned over into our care."

Finally, the queen could get her hands on the spy! Initially, Tyrr'henia thought to move against the genius herself to disillusion him and bring him around. Then Zadavia got him incarcerated at Acmetropolis Intergalactic Prison Ship – Station Alpha. Though it took much longer than planned, perhaps this way was better. It had been simplicity itself to insinuate guards on her payroll into the penal system. Guards who ensured that the coyote was isolated from his one-time friends and that 'encouraged' the anthropomorphic genius in right thinking. Certainly prison life had made him more pliable, more easily convinced on whose side he truly belonged.

Though there was some argument, and a lot of discussion, the Martian queen won the point . . . as well as the custody battle. Acmetropolis' penal system was proving entirely inadequate if Tech could orchestrate three nearly devastating hostile takeovers from within his cell. A subspace call was sent immediately to Acmetropolis to appraise the mayor and the prison warden.

Once decided on, Zadavia volunteered to see to the transfer, but here again she was overruled. It was determined that the Frelengian princess was too distraught over the loss of her Loonatics, too personally involved. All of Zadavia's suspicions and concerns about the Martians' intent came flooding back to her.

In the end, unable to fully trust her person with her alien allies, Queen Tyrr'henia evaporator-rayed with her small entourage up to the flagship. She would go with her bodyguard and champion, General Melvin. With as few real people overseeing the army as there was, Melvin didn't trust his robotic Centurions to make the trip on their own without demolishing half the fleet. The Battle Cruiser set off immediately to retrieve the Martian fleet.

While Melvin returned to his fleet to guide it closer in, Optimatus prepared his techno-forces to retrieve the turncoat coyote. With his Light-Force powers, the Frelengian prince should be able to handle the genius with little difficulty. Splitting his techno-forces, Optimatus set a third to return to Freleng with his sister, a third to remain at Blanc to help in its defense, and kept a third to help in retrieving the prisoner as well as to bolster Acmetropolis' own forces. He was to set off for Acmetropolis as soon as the Martians settled into Blanc's stellar system.

Once the Martians left, Zadavia turned to her brother and the royal Tweetums, convincing them to not wait for the Martians to arrive before getting Tech; as well getting them to deliver the traitor not to Blanc, but to Freleng instead. Optimatus was at first reluctant; he trusted Melvin. But seeing how important it was to his little sister, he finally agreed.

"And, Optimatus, do not inform the Martians . . . yet anyway. I wish to get Tech secured first so they may see that we can properly contain him." Zadavia's reasoning was sound. It would be unwise to house the genius with the same people that he was trying to overthrow. It was her reasoning, but not the princess' real purpose. Truth be told, Zadavia didn't trust the Martians with the coyote. "I do not want Tech anywhere near Wormhole Central or the Martians."

"Agrweed." It seemed reasonable to Tweetums. The small bird was not totally sanguine about having the Martians as next door neighbors, but it wouldn't have been politic to refuse them sanctuary.

The tiny monarch opened a wormhole for Zadavia to return home and prepare for the prisoner. Once she was gone, the canary yellow bird extended it to open in Acmetropolis for Optimatus. By extending the same wormhole that Zadavia used, Optimatus would be able to return directly to Freleng with the coyote, bypassing Blanc entirely with the traitor.

Fade to Black.

If he was really evil, he would never put up with all the abuse . . . or he would wreck vengeance against those who misused him. He would give vent to his passions without regard for the consequences. He would do whatever it took to get him whatever he wanted. Wouldn't he? Isn't that what defined evil? advancing one's own ends at the expense of others? Tech used to think so, but now he didn't know. He _wasn't_ evil. But . . . if he wasn't, then why was he here? and why didn't his friends . . . correction, _ex_-friends . . . come visit him? Even when they had returned Mallory to their cell, the Loonatics hadn't so much as said 'Hi.'

"They've disintegrated you half a dozen times. Folded, spindled, and mutilated you more times than even I can count. Any other person would have been dead many times over." Mallory continued her rather one-sided argument. To all appearances, Tech was completely ignoring her. Mallory figured if she could rouse Tech's indignation against the guards, then she could turn the dog's anger at her for botching the escape plan to them.

What was that old English rhyme? '_Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Sailor: Rich Man, Poor Man, Beggar Man, Thief: Doctor, Lawyer, Merchant, Chief_.' The canid anthromorph used to know who he was. Until he was brought here and everyone told him otherwise. Who was he really? And where did he belong? As he pondered unanswerable questions, Tech continued work on one last vegi-bot. It too was shaping up into a rose, with delicate looking but very tough pedals. He didn't even know why he was making it. He didn't need the tiny mechanical device.

**_This is Skip Carlson reporting for AcmeT. The rumors of Pink the Pug, Stoney the Stone, and Bugsy the Bug escaping and threatening the mayor have been denied by correspondent representatives. We have been assured that there is no cause for alarm._**

Tech snorted. It wasn't so much the news that was reported, but the hype and propaganda. Tech continued working on the vegi-bot, finishing it up as the news caster droned on.

In the genius' opinion, the news channel playing on the guard station monitor was an unfortunate side-effect of the coyote's setup while Mallory was out unwittingly creating a diversion for him. Tech snorted again; this time at himself. And what was that about evil using others for one's own gain? Perhaps he was evil after all. Though if Mallory had followed the plan, they BOTH would have been out.

Still, Tech had meant to only get the audio code track from Loonatic Tower, but his remote vegi-bot that he had clipped to Mallory's hair had been a bit nonspecific. At least the tiny construct had functioned well enough to drop off of Mallory once in the Tower and get to a computer terminal. The genius' tiny invention wasn't so much organic circuitry as etched patterns and minute hydraulics such as insects used to move.

Tech smirked as 'Skip' continued to drone on. The prison personnel still couldn't figure out how to turn it off. All the same, the coyote was very concerned about how events outside the prison ship were shaping up. The news reported the Loonatics defeating bad guys and preventing scandals. But the reports were so sensationalized that it was hard to tell what was true and what was hype.

"What are you loyal for, cur? You've already served several life sentences! or should I say death sentences?" Mallory's anger at her old mentor flared. Ever since her escape and recapture, Tech withdrew even further into himself. The big-headed villainess just couldn't understand him or his stupid little morality algorithms. Still, the mutt's prediction came true about her recapture if she cheated on their deal. The three foot tall human was beginning to wonder if there wasn't something to it after all. The technopathic villainess scowled at the coyote's continued silence. He still hadn't forgiven her for not sticking to the plan. "Agh! You're still not listening to me!"

Why was he loyal? The genius looked down at the small, highly refined vegi-bot in his hand. Sometimes Tech really hated his canine heritage that instilled such traits as 'loyalty' in him. Or was his loyalty a learned trait, a nasty habit that he'd picked up from his old friends?

_**In other news tonight, eye witnesses claim that a spatial anomaly appeared . ._ ..**

"Nice addition, that." Taking a different tack, Mallory cocked a thumb at the screen. "Your work, no doubt."

Tech shrugged, noncommittal. The guards also insisted that it was his doing . . . which of course it was. They'd beaten him for it, but then again, they would have beaten him regardless. They still had been unable to prove anything.

Tech's long coyote ears twitched, tuned not into the news, but into the audio transcoding of direct computer code embedded in the signal. Over his long exposure to computers, the genius came to recognize the code much like understanding a second language. "Hush, Mallory."

"Why? It's only some lame news report on a wormhole that turned rogue right outside the penitentiary. Too bad it didn't hit us, eh? It could have knocked out . . .. Ow!" Mallory failed to dodge the book that Tech threw at her.

[ . . . gone. Martian fleet en route to Blanc for security measures. Prepare high security prisoner 06 for transfer. Optimatus arriving soon to escort traitor to Freleng.]

Had the message he intercepted said that the Loonatics were gone? What did that mean? Gone where? Tech wished he could have shut Mallory up sooner. Still, with the Martians on the move and Optimatus coming for him, he was suddenly on a tight timetable. The coyote couldn't wait any longer for the heightened security to relax from Mallory's aborted escape. He had to stage his own escape now.

Standing abruptly, Tech shoved aside his previous introspection. Whoever he was, he didn't belong here! or imprisoned on Freleng. "Time's up. For me . . . and for the Loonatics!"

Mallory stumbled back as Tech stalked over to her, green fire alight in the depths of his eyes. It was the first he'd even looked at her since her recapture. The green furred canine paced forward until he cornered her in among her books.

The coyote sniffed briefly, then snorted out his breath. Mallory always took shortcuts, as she attempted to do with her thought-transfer machine back in college. She'd be really great if she'd just buckle down and apply the basics. A natural talent didn't become a strength unless it was practiced. Otherwise it was just wasted potential. "You always were lax in your practical application theories."

Poor little maladjusted Mallory. The coyote's cellmate never clued in to the whole organic mechanics of his vegi-bots. Mallory was only interested in conventional technology and disregarded the fringe sciences. Her mistake . . . and her loss. The genius tried to show her; here in prison as well as back in school, but she refused to see. Tech briefly touched the small construct that he just finished to the small human's cheek before tucking the rose into the collar of her prison jumper. All she had to do was prime it with saline and it would work for her. He leaned close to whisper in her ear. "Shed a tear for me Mallory; and set yourself free."

Turning from the small human as if she simply ceased to exist, Tech concentrated his magnetism beyond the forcefield dome. The genius triggered the other little surprise he'd manage to program into the guard station computer when he hacked into the system. It wasn't so much a bypass to the dual key locking system, as a simple energy cycle reset. Magnetizing himself to the guard station desk outside the cell, Tech allowed the electromagnetic force binding them to snap him through the forcefield dome of the cell as soon as it flickered.

Biting down on a yelp, Tech stumbled into the guard station, his tail crisped from the forcefield returning to full strength. "Stupid, really, putting a reset _inside_ the cell block. Big design flaw. If I were still a hero, I'd have to fix that."

Mallory stared wide-eyed at the coyote, not at all sure how he'd just conveyed himself outside of the cell. Or what had prompted the sudden burst of activity.

The coyote genius opted against programming the mainframe to ignore him. Trying to reprogram the security sensor-cameras to ignore his bio-readings from a subsidiary terminal would take more time than he had available. Tech swiped the power dampening cuffs and neuron net ionizer that he was brought in from the guard station desk before jogging over to a section of wall between the cells. He ran a hand over it, searching.

"Wait, Tech! Take me with you!" Mallory yelled after the retreating coyote, begging him not to leave without her.

"Sorry, fat-head, you'll have to escape on your own. I can only get one out at a time, and you already blew your chance." Tech's eyes and hands glowed green, and he magnetically pulled a maintenance access hatch out of the wall revealing a narrow tunnel that extended into the workings of the ship. After Mallory's little stunt, they'd be expecting him to use the elevator. Since Mallory took his force globe generator for her escape, he had nothing with which to shield himself from the penitentiary weapons systems. And though he could regenerate, the damage would slow him down too much to allow his escape. The small human's latest betrayal of his trust, along with that of his 'friends' broke something in him. And damaged trust wasn't easily mended; no, the coyote wouldn't easily trust again. Dealing with another betrayal was something he couldn't risk . . . something he refused to do. Besides, Mallory's swollen head wouldn't fit through the hatchway.

"Tech!" Mallory screamed as the scrawny coyote disappeared into the crawlway. "You son of a . . .."

The maintenance access hatch clanged back into position, cutting off the villainess' words. In a fit of anger, Mastermind threw the text that Tech had earlier thrown at her after the turncoat dog. It crumbled into a little pile of ash as it hit the cell's forcefield barrier.

"Lo-o-o-o-ser! Way to alienate Mr. Magnetic Personality, big-brain. If you'da played straight by coyote ugly, we all could 'a got out of here." Sypher flopped back onto his cot, his arms folded up behind his shock of bright yellow and red hair. He and the rest of the powered villains in the cell block had pretty much taken to ignoring Mastermind and Tech's 'lovers quarrels,' but with his cell being right across the hall from theirs, he sometimes found himself involved anyway. His eyes drew to the newscast. Oh, well, at least now they could watch TV.

Fade to Black.


	12. Chapter 12

Loonatics Unleashed:

"Silent Conspiracy"

(This story is post Season Two – after the cartoon series.)

Rated T for Intrigue.

Disclaimer: Loonatics Unleashed, Duck Dodgers in the 24th and ½ Century, Looney Tunes, and all related Characters and Elements are trademarks of Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Other references, lyrics and quotes belong to their individual artists, authors, copyrights, or trademarks.

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It was a good thing, Tech mused, that he'd lost so much body mass while in prison or he'd never have fit through all the twists and turns of the prison ship's maintenance crawlway. Though he didn't know it, the coyote looked as if he'd spent years living in some desert surviving only on old tin cans and crickets. Tech cranked hard on the steering column of the police cruiser that he boosted, barely avoiding another barrage of disintegrator shots from the pursuing law enforcers. Just another few hundred feet, then he'd be through enough of Acmetropolis' murky atmosphere not to burn up on reentry.

It was only a matter of time before one of the laser light explosions detonating around the fleeing police cruiser struck home. Tech didn't take the time to count how many pursuers he had, but there must have been over a dozen of them. The cruiser he'd boosted for his escape was too bulky for the green coyote to extend his personal magnetic field through to keep tabs on the small fleet behind him. A blast struck the rear stabilizers and Tech's vehicle spun out of control toward Crater Bay. The genius could have wrested control with his magnetic power, but what was the point? He was now at a low enough altitude to abandon ship.

Bracing himself with his powers against the wild careening of the escape vehicle, Tech made his way back to the storage compartment and broke out the small, police pursuit cycle. A cross between a Loonatic's zoomatrix and street scooter like Pinkster had when impersonating an officer, Tech had built the pursuit cycle specifically for law enforcers. Only half the size of a zoomatrix, he designed it for officers to quickly traverse even crowded pedestrian walkways The convertible cycle also had a hardtop canopy that could seal in the rider to allow for air, land, water, and even limited space travel. And if he could get it to a lab, the genius could easily convert it to deep space travel as well. Though its small size would make any extended trip rather cramped.

A huge explosion rocked the police cruiser, filling the cab with smoke. Tech mounted the small cycle and sealed himself in. When the cruiser burst apart with the next hit, the coyote allowed the pursuit cycle to free-fall to the ocean below. He snapped a micro EMP burst into the police radio, breaking one connection there. He could receive broadcasts, but the cycle could no longer transmit. It would be harder to trace. A cheer sounded over the speakers as the cruiser he just vacated exploded in a ball of flame. He hit the water hard, but the armor reinforced cycle absorbed the shock and sank quietly toward the seabed. Just before he hit bottom, the fugitive coyote hit the ignition and jetted for Zadavia's old underwater base.

With any luck, the officers above would think that he perished in the conflagration . . . but Tech didn't count on it. Lady Luck had never smiled on the rangy coyote. As the genius learned long ago in his earlier inventions, any thing that could go wrong WOULD go wrong. It was why he was so meticulous in calculating out even the smallest variables. That, and his molecular regeneration was a well documented fact.

As Tech approached the craggy, underwater cliffs that housed Zadavia's Acmetropolis base, the police band on the radio cut out indicating that the base's cloaking was still active. He'd be able to pick it up again over Zadavia's equipment once inside. The structures and buildings of the base were actually embedded in the coral stone of a long dead reef. Acmetropolis' tumultuous past had not been kind to any of the planet's inhabitants, above or below the waves. When the meteor hit, much had perished in the undersea realms. But, like above, life here was slowly returning. Though perhaps not as abundant as they once were, seaweeds and polyps, sea anemones and corals, as well as brightly patterned fish of many kinds, populated the waters.

Tech steered his pursuit cycle into the underwater base's docking bay. The circular bay was half filled with water, the air above still breathable. Tech rode the small cycle up the boat ramp, along the dock, and right into the base proper. It was just as well that the enforcers shot him down over the water. Even if he had gotten to Loonatic Tower, they had pretty much cleaned it out when the team moved to Blanc. And since the tower was where he'd sent Mallory for her escape and that's where the Loonatics apprehended her, it was best not to tempt fate by going there and falling into a trap that one or other of them might have set.

Parking the pursuit cycle in the middle of the main living area, Tech began rummaging. Zadavia's old underwater base wasn't stripped as bare as the Tower was. As a princess, Zadavia either didn't need the stuff here or she wanted a backup safe house anyway . . . or she planned on coming back. Whatever the reason, he could make good use of it now. At Lexi's insistence, each Loonatic had brought a change of clothing and a few other necessities to Zadavia's base in case of emergency. At the time, the guys had just rolled their eyes at the fashion crazed bunny. So what if they had to wear the same thing two days in a row? But Zadavia had approved, so the guys had no choice but to comply. Now, however, Tech was glad that she did.

The coyote stripped out of the hated prison jumper that marked him as an escaped convict even before he even reached the supply closet. Lexi would have agreed that its bright neon green clashed horribly with his own emerald glow. For an anthromorph in the twenty-eighth century, 'going in the fur,' or feathers as the case may be, wasn't considered immodest as it would be for a human, just terribly old fashioned. Like seeing someone going down the street in a full, double-breasted, three piece suit, bow tie, with a top hat and cane. Tech grabbed his pack off the closet shelf and dumped its contents on the floor.

Though it wasn't immodest to go without, it was unwise not to have the added protection. Tech kicked aside an old Loonatic uniform, not even considering it. The lab coat was out. In a fight, the long, loose sleeves and coattail would only get in the way. The coyote tossed aside the old trench coat that he wore to the concert with Zadavia for the same reason. Finding all of his own clothes too loose on his now scrawny frame, Tech dumped out his ex-teammates' belongings as well. The anemic coyote's breath caught slightly and he snatched up the packet of jerky that tumbled out of Slam's pack along with a couple of sports bottles of water. He couldn't even remember the last time he'd eaten his fill.

Munching jerky, the green coyote saw to his wardrobe. Already he was feeling better with the added nutrition in him. In the future he'd have to add food items with a long shelf life and clean water to his own emergency pack. In short order the coyote scrounged a pair of Rev's black, low friction pants, one of Danger's muscle T-shirts, and a pair of his own boots; all of which fit him well enough. He also grabbed Slam's wrestler's bandanna and Ace's old fight jacket.

Tech searched the storage closet shelves. Amid the boxes, canisters, and piece parts from some of his own inventions, Tech also found black weightlifting gloves with the fingers out. They were sized for each of the Loonatics . . . even a pair for Zadavia. Slam's doing, no doubt; Tech briefly wondered what the devil had intended on them all doing together. He picked out the pair sized for him. The coyote also came across his and Slam's spiked collars and chain leashes from an earlier misadventure. Also with the chains was a holo-cube picture of him and Slam on Lexi's leashes. Why they were in Zadavia's base and whether it was Lexi or Zady that kept them around were questions that he couldn't even guess at. An odd smile quirked the corner of his muzzle and Tech wondered what the girls planned for them.

Magnetically pulling many of the piece parts off the shelves, the genius gathered what he needed. He also snagged a far-range scanner to combine with the pursuit cycle's existing equipment, a small hand held scanner, and one of the old Inter-cosmic Spacesuit generators. The Loonatics had used the 'shrink-wrap' style spacesuits when the second, larger meteor threatened Acmetropolis. Since he invented the Loonatics' enviro-suits, however, the team only used the Inter-cosmic suits for recreational deep sea diving, but they still worked.

Tech raised Zadavia's workstation from its docked position in the floor and dumped his load of supplies on it, including the chains, spiked collars, and his stash of clothing. He hardly spared a glance at the brace of manta rays swimming in lazy circles right outside the window as he got to work. Tech had built most this stuff in his head over the course of his imprisonment, now all he had to do was put it together.

"Tighten the rheostat here, adjust the flux matrix there, a little spray sealant and I'm done!" Tech checked the clock. "Hmm. Eleven minutes and thirty-six seconds. I must be out of practice. Well, time to leave before I outstay my welcome. Once the enforcers decide I'm not dead, it won't take them long to figure out where I went."

Tech quickly donned the clothing that he fashioned into the Tech E. Coyote Recursive Power Blaster 1000. In fact, Tech rigged his entire outfit to make it into an energy collector and redirector. It wouldn't actually increase his electromagnetic power, but it would drastically increase his capacity to channel it. Tech tied Slam's old wrestling bandanna around his head, pinning his ears down. In the close confines of the pursuit cycle cockpit, his long coyote ears ran into the ceiling. Then he slipped on Ace's old flight jacket. It was a bit loose, but it was either that or Lexi's pink sequin one. And he hadn't wanted to calculate the sequins' chaotic reflective factor into his Recursive Power Blaster. He wrapped both his and Slam's chain leashes around him, one over each shoulder so they crisscrossed his torso like bandoleers. He fastened Slam's collar around his waist as a belt. Then, hesitating slightly, the coyote donned his own collar. In a pinch he could magnetically shoot out the spikes like bullets . . . but as part of his new weapon system, he had better use for them.

The coyote genius packed the Inter-cosmic Spacesuit generator, the handheld scanner, as well as a compact box, a surprise he'd constructed for Tweetums just in case, into a side holster. Tech glanced down, but found his bag of jerky empty. He sighed. Too bad he didn't have time to hunt up some more. Well, there was no help for it now. Besides, once in his 'stay fresh' spacesuit, he wouldn't be able to eat anyway . . . that was one of the limitations of the early design.

Catching his reflection in the large, panoramic undersea windows, Tech barked out a humorless laugh. He looked backstreet bad . . . definitely the fugitive on the run. And speaking of fugitive, he'd already stayed nearly as long as he dared.

His next order of business was even more brief. Running now, Tech ripped out the energy core from Zady's underwater base and retrofitted it into the pursuit cycle, making it capable of deep space travel. The bike was the limit of his available resources. The coyote activated the Inter-cosmic generator, standing still for the few seconds it required to coat him in the semi-fluid, transparent material of the suit. It lent a slightly blueish cast to his green fur. He hadn't the time to fully convert the bike to make it completely deep space worthy. He'd need the added protection. Tech hopped onto the pursuit cycle and took off.

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The small, green pursuit cycle broke through the atmosphere and took up an orbit around the city planet of Acmetropolis, running counter to the planet's rotational spin. Mingling with the cloud of satellites, spacecraft, and just plain stellar junk, Tech remained literally unnoticed as he crossed the international dateline going from day-side to the night-side. Without the atmosphere to soften the effect, there was a stark contrast in the city planet's appearance. Day-side showed light expanses of blue ocean and green-brown land crossed over by swirling strands of clouds. Night-side Acmetropolis, on the other hand, revealed black satin waters; and a large, distorted continent ablaze with city lights. When the fateful meteor crashed into Acmetropolis knocking it off its axis, not only did it unleash cosmic energies that awakened powers in a comparatively small fraction of the population, it also shifted the landmasses. Instead of over half a dozen smaller continents, two mega-continents now dominated Acmetropolis with only a smattering of islands and archipelagos scattered between.

As Tech crossed over the great scar of the meteor impact crater, also filled with teeming city, he angled his flightpath toward the equally battered moon. Some small time ago, at Danger Duck's taunting, Melvin the Martian caused considerable damage to the natural satellite in a game to show off his marksmanship. A damaged planet from the meteor strike; a damaged moon from the Martian attack. The green hued coyote shook his head as the Acmetropolis Intergalactic Prison Ship came into view. So much damage, . . . so much.

Tech tucked himself into the shadow between Prison Station Alpha and the moon to await the Frelengian forces that were on their way to apprehend him. He was small. The enforcers didn't consider the pursuit cycle to be really space worthy and wouldn't be looking for him here. And being a police vehicle, the cycle didn't register as hostile to their tracking system. He was invisible to them. Knowing that he couldn't avoid detection for the 7 ½ hours it would take him to traverse the Clampett galaxy in n-space to get anywhere near the Martian fleet, the genius opted for picking the confrontation zone himself. At least here, he'd have a chance of escaping down to the teeming planet surface to hide among the populous if things went awry. He'd also have access to technology and supplies for a second attempt if need be.

What bothered the coyote, though, was the fact that that Optimatus was assigned the task of trying to bring him in. In the Loonatics' absence he would have thought Zadavia to be the logical choice. She KNEW him . . . and his capabilities. Seeing the familiar Merry Melody swirl of a forming wormhole, Tech took a couple of deep breaths to lower his stress level, checked his gear, and prepared to move out.

"Curse that turncoat of a coyote!" Optimatus slammed his bionic fist into the communications console. Upon his draconian Orion Class Cruiser disgorging from the wormhole back into normal space, the prince of Freleng was immediately barraged with intra-stellar messages concerning the coyote's disappearance. Optimatus was not amused that the ex-Loonatic seemed to be expecting him and was, doubtless, ready for him. Tech must have somehow intercepted the communications that he was coming. Strangely, with all the hi-tech advances that the civilizations made, word of mouth was still the most secure method of communication that they had.

Using neither his ship instrumentation nor his bionic enhancements, but his own native Light Force ability, Optimatus sent out waves of soft, prismatic light to illuminate the dark shadows of the airless void. He had no trouble locating Tech, but the smallness of the coyote's craft surprised him. He'd seen spacesuits and individual battle armor bigger than that! But worse, with the wily coyote being so close to the prison ship, he'd have to exercise restraint in his efforts against the renegade or risk damaging the penitentiary and freeing the inmates. "Double curse him!"

Optimatus deployed his troop of techno-forces, leading them out in direct confrontation himself. He flew through space without benefit of spacesuit or jet pack as Zadavia had on numerous occasions before him. His Light powers were enough to protect him against the harshness of space, and to allow him to communicate with the coyote. "Give up, traitor."

Glowing a faint emerald green, the tiny pursuit cycle veered to the side, then unexpectedly dove to scoot under the Frelengian prince and techno-forces. Tech aimed for the wormhole still open behind the Frelengian forces.

"Not so fast, Slick." Optimatus snatched the saber hilt sheathed at his side, extending the Guardian Strike Sword in one movement. The prince sliced through the hardtop canopy of the fugitive's pursuit cycle, separating it completely from the bike and exposing the rider within to space. Disappointment etched his natural eye when he saw the coyote encased in a transparent spacesuit. He had hoped empty space would render Tech unconscious, relying on the anthropomorph's regeneration to save his life. The renegade genius sat up from where he'd pressed himself against the cycle to avoid the cut and spun the bike out of Optimatus' reach.

"I have a nice little cryogenic pod waiting with your name on it," Optimatus taunted. For his sister's sake he would try not to be too rough, but . . . if he had to blast the coyote into submission, then so be it. His long, purple hair flowing in the force of his Light powers, Optimatus pointed his replacement Guardian Strike Sword at Tech, powering up his Light-Force abilities to channel through it. "Come along peacefully . . . you are out powered, villain."

"Interesting view point that," Tech began conversationally. "But tell me," and here a wily glint danced in the green flames alight within the coyote's eyes. "Whose bright idea was it to send the 'tin man' against a 'villain' with magnetism?"

Instantly, Tech flared bright green, his magnetism flinging Optimatus back to crater into the side of his own dragon ship, nearly tearing out all of his prostheses in the process. Coolly indifferent to Optimatus' scream, Tech deadpanned. "Brilliant."

Tech magnetized Optimatus' sword to him, deftly disarming his foe. The rangy coyote could not believe how lame he'd been most of the time in his early hero-ing career in not using his magnetic power to full advantage. With as smart as the genius was, he really should have learned to properly utilize it much sooner.

As for Optimatus' sword, The genius would love the chance to reverse engineer it. Like Ace's Guardian Strike Sword, this one also possessed power that its wielder could tap into. However, Opti could also channel his own native abilities into it as well, as he had when freeing the villains and operating a wormhole when they first encountered him.

"Hmm." Tech wondered if Ace could channel his laser optics through his sword as well. That could be sufficiently devastating. A similar thing happened when Zadavia's powers were siphoned into the galactic guitar. It seemed that once energy was channeled through or stored in an ancillary device, it could be used for all sorts of things.

Now THAT was power. Tech wondered that Zadavia ever bothered with the Loonatics. He growled with realization. They were her pawns to use and to sacrifice to the political games as suited her whim. Ace had an ancient text, "The Art of War" by Sun-Tzu. It was originally ancient military strategy, then adapted for business practices. Apparently, the principles were sound even for running a team of superheroes. One of its principles claimed that when setting rules, all should be treated the same.

This whole mess was because the ruling class . . . whether elected or born into it . . . kept a miser's hold on anything, such as the Guardian Strike Swords or the galactic guitar, that could increase an individual's native ability to empower the common individual. They even refused to share non-dangerous technology, keeping things such as the 'fast train' of wormholes for their own use while relegating everyone else to the 'foot traffic' of conventional space travel. Then, since any technology that science can create, it can recreate . . . or it can be stolen; soon, not only did the rulers have access to it, but arch enemies as well, leaving everyone else their victims. Once truth and knowledge was opened up to all, any good leader would find they had a planet full, not of victims, but of ready, willing, and able supporters.

Optimatus shook his head to clear it of the ringing. He clenched his fist, but his grip came up empty. Great. He'd lost ANOTHER Guardian Strike Sword! Barely clinging to consciousness from the unexpected counter-attack, Optimatus weakly commanded his techno-force squad to open fire on the coyote.

Tech's emerald glow completely encased not only his hands, but his whole body as well as the pursuit cycle he rode. The coyote deftly dodged the firepower. At some, almost instinctual level, the anthromorph connected with the attacking troops. He could feel them in the magnetic flux field much as he had the surrounding structures when he had raced through Blanc's interior with Rev or as he had felt Mallory even in his sleep. Not only could he feel Opti's techno-forces, but he could tell where they were, where they were going, and where they were going to fire.

Frustrated with the traitor's luck at avoiding his techno-troops, Optimatus rallied his strength to blast the villain with his Light Force power. The prismatic energy wave was weak but still struck the renegade coyote, catching him off guard and flinging both genius and his bike back almost into the prison station. Tech hadn't detected the buildup of Light Force within his opponent. By this time, those in prison Station Alpha scrambled fighters to help in the villain's recapture. About time! Though Optimatus refused to acknowledge that part of the slow response time was his own fault. He hadn't radioed for backup. More fully recovered from his first run-in with the coyote, Freleng's prince braced himself and let loose with the full force of his Light powers.

"Time to test out the new suit." Tech deployed his secret weapon . . . himself. Standing on the pursuit cycle's stirrups, the genius extended both arms with his fingers splayed. The chains spiraled away from him and the spikes on his collar and belt shot out in a fractal pattern, giving substance and focus to his Tech E. Coyote Recursive Power Blaster 1000. In some elementary way, it functioned on the same basic principle as his sine wave cancellation reverberator that he used against the Music Villain; instead of collecting, focusing, and redirecting sound waves, it did the same with various electromagnetic energies. Tech caught the light stream in the huge glowing cone in which he was centered. The kickback threw him back nearly into the moon and knocked the spike studs right out of him. But his Recursive Power Blaster worked . . . barely. "Back at you, big guy."

The green furred coyote redirected Optimatus' power, diffusing the prismatic energy by taking out a good swath of techno-forces and damaging the enemy dragon ship. Only a fraction of the prince's own power slammed back into him. Tech was more interested in escape than in the total annihilation of Freleng's defenses.

"Uhh, that went less well than hoped." Tech felt so weak! The genius magnetized in his scattered spikes and chain links, resetting them in his clothing. Even that amount of effort was draining. The recursive maneuver taxed a lot more of his personal reserve than he anticipated. He'd have to conserve as much of his powers as he possibly could. That and he really needed to get to his fully stocked lab in the Blanc headquarters to update his system. His self-weapon was adequate for Optimatus . . . barely. But now that he was out and running, it needed to be stronger. Much, much stronger. Ten minutes with his special mirco-cleavage kiln would be all he needed to upgrade the metal of the chains and spikes and fashion them so they would interlink for added structural support. Then he'd be ready to go meet destiny, . . . or fate, . . . or whatever. Well, he'd be ready to go anyway. Once again, Tech turned his reinforced pursuit cycle and kicked in the afterburners.

When fully engaged in his electromagnetism, Tech was anchored in surrounding electromagnetic fields, most of the time it was within a planet's own field. It's how he wasn't thrown back when stopping gigantic rampaging robots while using a jetpack. But between the planet- Acmetropolis and the moon there almost wasn't enough to hold him. Out in space, he definitely needed something to anchor him, perhaps a retro thruster or something. Still, even with all the problems with the untested recursive blaster, Tech recovered quicker than Opti did.

Seeing the enforcers gather around the comatose Optimatus, Tech nodded. By the time Opti regained consciousness and disentangled himself from all the red tape, the coyote would be outta there. Howling in triumph, Tech flew his cycle through the breached techno-forces and into the still open wormhole behind Optimatus. The genius was already calculating the needed updates in his head. "Have wormhole, will travel."

Optimatus groaned, coming to just in time to see his quarry vanish into the wormhole. "Curses, I should have brought twice the cruisers and three times the techno-forces!"

The law enforcers escorted the Frelengian prince aboard the Acmetropolis Intergalactic Prison Ship to await either the repair of his own ship or until another could be procured for him. None of their own vessels were deep space worthy.

Optimatus paced the confines of the prison warden's office. He'd already alerted Zadavia that Tech hijacked the wormhole to Freleng, giving her an added warning not to underestimate the wily coyote.

After just a few minutes with the highly irritable prince, the warden found pressing business that needed his attention elsewhere in the prison barge. It suited Optimatus fine. He didn't want the human's company. He found hanging around Acmetropolis . . . literally as his forces were decimated by Tech . . . irksome. He'd had to settle for the orbital prison. It was close to hand and he had nothing in which to land on Acmetropolis proper. He could have traveled down under his own Light power, but though he wouldn't admit the weakness to others, his fight with the traitor had exhausted him.

The muscular prince sat at the warden's desk to review the security footage of Tech's escape. A slot for a universal code chip in the computer console caught his eye. The coyote genius did design the prison before going rogue. Apparently the genius was working on integrating the Acmetropolis technology with the Frelengian. Curious, Optimatus took a code chip from his pocket and slipped it in. The brow over his one natural eye raised. There were drastic discrepancies between the routine security footage and the baseline files. He doubted that the guards knew that there even was a baseline file, much less be able to falsify it. Optimatus opened a connection to the mayor's office on Acmetropolis. "I've been investigating Tech's incarceration . . . and you will not believe what I have discovered."

Fade to Black.

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A/N The reference to the chains and collars comes from my previous story "Reasonable Commands" also on this site.

Another A/N: Thanks to ontheair for pointing out to me that the reporter in chapter 11 should have been 'Scoop' instead of 'Skip.' In 'In the Pinkster' the newscaster definitely IS Scoop. Sorry for the Blooper.


	13. Chapter 13

Loonatics Unleashed:

"Silent Conspiracy"

(This story is post Season Two – after the cartoon series.)

Rated T for Intrigue.

Disclaimer: Loonatics Unleashed, Duck Dodgers in the 24th and ½ Century, Looney Tunes, and all related Characters and Elements are trademarks of Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Other references, lyrics and quotes belong to their individual artists, authors, copyrights, or trademarks.

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"_I'm a sweet little bird on a gilded throne. Tweetum's my name, but I__ sit here alone. __I don't have to worry and that is that, I'm safe in here from that old puddy . . ._" Tweetums' blue eyes widened in alarm, "Coyote!"

Optimatus called in the warning that the turncoat coyote had hijacked the wormhole, but Tweetums expected Tech to show up on Freleng where Zadavia was waiting to apprehend him, not here! Tweetums reached to slap a palm on the emergency call button in the arm of his throne booster seat, but the ex-Loonatic jammed it with a micro burst EMP. "How did you get here?"

Tech turned off his pursuit cycle's engine and dismounted. He studied the 3 ½ parsec old ruler of Blanc. It had taken a while to realize that on Blanc, age was measured by experience rather than by time. And often that experience in turn was measured by distance traveled. Thus Tweetums was considered to be 11.41 light-years . . . hence 3 ½ parsecs . . . old due to the distance that he traveled n-space while an exile. In some odd manner, it seemed appropriate for the planet that housed Wormhole Central to gage age by travel.

The genius swept the handheld scanner that he'd picked up at Zadavia's base over the minute monarch before deigning to answer. "Ah, good. The real 'McCoy' I see. I'm afraid I had to activate several of your little decoys' self-destruct mechanisms on the way in to see you. They seemed most intent on preventing my access to the royal audience chamber."

Though much recovered from his run-in with Optimatus, Tech only destroyed those decoys that he couldn't avoid. The genius slowly swept his handheld scanner everywhere and over everything in the royal throne room, recording a thorough scan . . . including Tweetums as well as his royal scepter. Once he got the information he needed to work Grand Central Wormhole on his own, he would leave. But until then he needed to keep the little yellow tweety bird occupied and ignorant of his real purpose for being here. "As for how I got here . . .. Well, I am one of your sworn protectors."

"WAS one of my prwotectors," the royal Tweetums corrected. Tech frowned at the fowl's interjection, but continued his chat with the minute monarch.

"In any case, the Loonatics have been stationed here on Blanc since the last invasion; during which time I have studied wormhole technology quite extensively. As you doubtless know, the wormhole through which I escaped was actually connected all the way through to Freleng. In mid-stream, I was able to 'stab' Optimatus' Guardian Strike Sword into the space-time continuum stream, slicing a small rift through it into normal space. It was fairly simple to calculate where to 'jump the track' and end up here instead." As he talked, Tech correlated his scans with his previous studies on wormhole technology. He busily punched in calculations for a solid hologram of the scepter, similar to what the Loonatics used in their virtual trainer. Once accurately recreated, he could power it either with his own electromagnetic powers or with Optimatus' saber. "Now the cosmic guitar was even better than the saber. When charged with Zadavia's Light Force, it could be used to activate wormholes, navigate space, and awaken robots. It even could operate through the neuron net ionizer. It's almost too bad that it doesn't still possess those unique abilities. What I couldn't do with something like that. It would have been much easier than traveling by sword."

A frown tightened around Tweetum's beak. The coyote's talk of the cosmic guitar and Zadavia's power made him uneasy. He did not like the imagined implications. Did the traitor know that Rev brought back the guitar from Freleng? And if so, would Tech really try to steal Zadavia's powers with it again? "Mr. Tech, I strwongly advise you to surwender now. I will not hesitate to brwing my egg bots against you."

Tech laughed at the absurdity of the tiny yellow feather-ling threatening anyone. "If you recall, your highness, I completely redesigned your troops myself. And I seriously doubt that Rev has been able to undo my special modifications. At best, Optimatus and his forces are on their way back to Freleng. At worst they are still at Acmetropolis. In either case it will be hours before any help can possibly arrive."

The mangy coyote paced forward, a glint of green fire in his eyes. Tweetums gulped and shrank back into the booster seat in his massive, golden throne. Then Tech straightened, his attention once again focused on the instrumentation in his hands. "And speaking of help, I rather expected the Loonatics to come 'greet' me. Terribly rude of them to avoid an old friend."

"The Loonatics gave their lives to prwotect the universe!" Tweetums shouted. The small yellow bird was angry and accusatory. But mostly he was just devastated at his loss; not only for his protectors, but for his friends.

An indecipherable look crossed the coyote's face as Tweetums confronted him with the facts of his ex-teammates' demise. Gone as in dead!? Tech ran to the computer terminal just outside the audience chamber. He brought up the computer log of Wormhole Central. When Tech had been unable to trace where Deuce was back during the invasion, Tweetums allowed Tech to install an automatic log-tracker of all wormhole activity. To Tech it was just a toy through which to learn more about wormholes. Now it was proving to be a most useful tool. "Ah! Here it is. It looks as if there was a little unscheduled side-trip to the prison dimension. I'm betting that Grannicus and Slyth Vester managed to trap my ex-teammates there."

"You mean they're not dead?" No longer cornered by the feral coyote, Tweetums could have run, but his curiosity urged him stay. "Sir Duck might still be alive!? Hurrway! I am the lucky one!"

"Don't worry your feathered little head about that." The glint was back in Tech's eye. "I'll hunt them out soon enough."

Tweetums planted his fists on his hips belligerently. "You're a verwy baad coyote, Mr. Tech."

"A person hears something only so often before he starts believing it." All good humor left the coyote's face. "And this whole 'bad dog' routine was pretty much beaten into me during my incarceration."

Tweetums was confused at the coyote's statement, but he wasn't about to fall for any tricks. "So what arwe you going to do? Forwce me to open a wormhole for you? Or arwe you just going to take the rwoyal scepter yourself?"

"Neither." Whether or not Tweetums, or anyone else, chose to acknowledge it; Tech was a coyote of his word. It would be more economical if he didn't have to wait for the Martians to come to him, most likely going though Blanc first. And with the data he accumulated, he didn't need the small bird. "I have the means to meet the invaders and I will use it. Using the wormholes is better for me, better for them, and it's better for you. Make no mistake. The Martians come only for conquest."

Tech paused, forcing patience in the hope that the royal Tweetums would be reasonable. While he said that he would go actively on the hunt, he'd be more sure of success if the yellow tweety bird cooperated with him. Another of Ace's 'Art of War' anecdotes came to mind. 'The guest has it hard, the host has it easy.' Maybe he should wait for the Martians to come to him after all. But no, he didn't want to risk damage to Blanc and Wormhole Central.

"I don't trwust you, Mr. Tech." Fear crawled through Tweetums' stomach at the villain's perceived threat, but he was royalty and it was up to him to stand against all dangers. "You awre an enemy not only of the crwown, but of the universe!"

"That brings up a good point. Is the enemy of my enemy my friend . . . or just another enemy?" Tech replied tightly. Tech didn't believe in monologue or in tipping his hand. But even though Tweetums was being obstinate, in this endgame, the more the merrier . . . and he needed a contingency back-up just in case he failed. "However, in the end analysis, trust is irrelevant. It doesn't matter if you trust me or not, your Majesty. The truth of the matter is, I will find the Loonatics. Then I will find the Martian invasion fleet."

"Don't make it worwse for yourself, Mr. Tech." Tweetums was puzzled. What was all this talk about the Martians?

"Worse?" The green fire in Tech's eyes suddenly flared and he growled. "I have lost friend and family. Respect and dignity. I have had multiple life . . . and death . . . sentences passed on me and been tortured daily. Just how do you propose to 'make it worse' for me?"

Tech waited for a reply, but Tweetums was at a loss for an answer. The coyote was smart, real smart. How could Blanc's monarch trust anything the ex-hero said? The tiny yellow bird involuntarily shrank back from the agitated coyote.

"Even now the most you MIGHT have on me is breaking and entering, though even that is debatable as this is a public audience chamber. Oh, but you aren't overly concerned with legalities, are you? I was arrested, imprisoned with no chance of parole, tried, and convicted without EVER being told precisely what it is that I'm supposed to have done, AND in my absence!" Tech snarled. "The shining example of advancement and civilization in the cosmos and it's run by a pack of frightened petty little rulers with power that they have neither the wit nor the wisdom to wield!"

"Oooo, I don't t'ink Mr. Tech like me verwy much."

Tech paused for the space of a beat. "I did."

Drawing a deep breath, Tech shook off the disappointment of not gaining the little bird's help. He should be used to rejection by now. "Well, love to stay and chat . . . but toodle-oo."

Tech mounted his pursuit cycle once more. He paused, but Tweetums still seemed disinclined toward logic.

"Oh, and one last thing," Tech tossed a small box with a large red button on it to Tweetums. "Whatever you do, DON'T push the big red button."

"Oh oh, he know me too well, don't he?" Tweetums tried to keep his feathered fingers away from the tantalizing button, struggling not to activate what the ruler of Blanc knew to be a trap. Now he regretted all those times when he so proudly proclaimed 'I'm a verwy curious little birdy and when told not to touch something, there's only one thing that I can do . . ..' Tech definitely knew him all too well.

Tech laughed, and dropping a large blast helmet over the yellow tweety bird, revved up his bike and took off. The small king's dilemma would slow down pursuit long enough for him to do what he had to. As he approached the Loonatics' tree house headquarters, a large boom shook the air. Chuckling, Tech checked his watch. "Hm, he held out longer than I thought."

The genius would have gone to the team's headquarters before visiting Tweetums, but he had to get the hologram readings first. Even so, the ingenious coyote spent even less time at the Loonatics' tree house on Blanc than he had at Zadavia's underwater base back on Acmetropolis. He stopped only long enough to use his special mirco-cleavage kiln to upgrade his Tech E. Coyote Recursive Power Blaster 1000 to a 2000 model.

He did have a deuce of a time getting past all of Rev's security updates; and Tech only narrowly avoided a special trap that the roadrunner had set for him. "The sly bird! He was expecting me back! If Rev had actually finished his modified 'Tech-nabber,' I would be in serious trouble."

After the upgrades and snatching what added equipment and firepower that he figured he might need, Tech jetted his pursuit cycle to the great, ring bound, blue sphere in the center of the planet that was Wormhole Central Station. He was so small and fast that even if Tweetums wasn't preoccupied by the disaster that his own curiosity caused him, the royal canary couldn't track or stop him.

The green coyote rode his bike right into Wormhole Central proper. Using his scans of Tweetums' scepter to form a 'solid hologram,' Tech placed the duplicate scepter into the central control housing. He then activated Optimatus' saber and thrust it through the podium's top as Ace had when banishing Deuce. The device powered up, and since the genius had studied the technology, he was able to lock in the wormhole into the prison plane. By moving the wormhole, Tech figured chances were good that he stranded not only Optimatus in Acmetropolis, but Zadavia on Freleng as well. It would take the royal siblings considerable time to reach Blanc.

.

Tech shot past the Michigan J. Frog nebula and approached the Screwball celestial formation before the amber concentric rings of the wormhole's exit appeared. The closer the coyote got to the prison dimension where the Loonatics were last seen, the more interstellar debris clogged the way. He shot full speed through wide bands of prismatic stellar gases, between jagged chunks of rock and meteors, and even passed a planetoid rent nearly in twain in some long distant past.

The anthropomorphic coyote slowed slightly as he approached the wormhole terminus, leaning down with his Guardian Strike Saber to once again score a rift. With his escape route back into normal space prepared, Tech retracted the blade and tucked the hilt into his belt. He locked the steering on his pursuit cycle freeing his hands for the two huge guns resting across the handlebars of his bike. Tech leaned into a curve, guiding his bike up and around the highest blue and white chessboard. Optimatus' stone prison throne was still there complete with broken manacles. He leaned forward and shifted left to come to a lower, larger chessboard. He could see several figures bound there.

The space debris that cluttered the wormhole seemed to have its origin here in the prison dimension. Planetoid fragments and colorful stellar clouds, some of which still ablaze, blocked the distant stars. And dominating the whole area were gigantic, multi-leveled game boards. The whole prison dimension was likely once a celestial arcade before some 1500 year intergalactic war decimated it.

Tech goosed his engine. Laughing and howling as he came, the green coyote barreled through like a space cowboy with his guns blazing. He didn't have the luxury of subtlety. Particle beams and alpha ray packets impacted around the Loonatics, weakening their restraints, but not freeing them. Any closer and he'd have barbecued heroes.

"Tech!!?" The coyote's ex-teammates chorused.

"Whoa! Someone sure likes his guns." Lexi couldn't help but grin at her friend's raucous entrance. For at least as long as she had known him, Tech always had been a sharpshooter. Even many of the inventor's other inventions, like his Molecular Reconstructor and Atomic Phase Departiculator, resembled guns. "We should call you Tex."

"You said it, sister." Danger Duck practically drooled in envy. Tech's guns were always set to overkill. Without thinking, the mallard tried to quack over to the green coyote only to be unceremoniously dumped on some random square of his checkerboard cell. Danger cursed the contraption that fouled his teleporting.

"Well, well, well. Look what the cat dragged in." Tech pulled up and came in for a landing. Small whiffs of smoke curled up from his gun barrels. The coyote studied his onetime friends. The guardians of the universe certainly were in dire straits, captured and restrained. "Literally."

"Speaking of cats . . . where are Slyth Vester and Grannicus?" Ace turned his head, trying to face Tech even though he was still blindfolded and couldn't see. The yellow hued bunny winced as jagged shards of pain lanced through his neck, shoulders, and back. Being kept immobile for so long had cramped his whole body. Man, it was way too easy to bypass his powers!

"They are none of my concern. You are." Tech's eyes glinted. How appropriate. Ace was cuffed spread-eagle on a big Ace of Hearts card. "Do you trust me?"

"Don't do it, Tech!" Ace remembered when he asked that same thing of the coyote. The bunny's blood ran chill and he despaired. He hated not being able to see.

"Yes,-yes,-yes! I-trust-my-best-friend,-my-li'l-bro!" The Loonatics were stunned by their leader's vehement reply, but Rev hastily voiced his own conviction. Slam grunted his support as well. A hint of a smile ticked the corner of Tech's muzzle. It wasn't Ace, but . . . good enough.

"Why Ace, you don't trust me. Just as Tweetums doesn't trust me. Now why is that, do you suppose? It couldn't have anything to do with how you've treated me could it?" Tech's voice held mock congeniality. "Still, fair enough, I suppose. I don't trust as I once did either. We're even."

Tech studied the restraints that held the Loonatics. Obviously they were remnants of the old gaming systems of the defunct arcade dimension. The genius moved over to Danger Duck. The orange mallard was incarcerated in a gravity flux maze that took up well over half of the game board. It was by far the most elaborate of the Loonatics' bindings. Tech rapidly punched in a few button combinations on the unit's control pad. Ingenious. The maze not only popped Danger to random checkerboard squares every time he tried to quantum quack, but it also rerouted all of his eggs to impact back on himself.

"Is the royal pain-in-the-tail-feathers okay?" Danger glared at the coyote fiddling with the controls of his cell. Tech mentioned Tweetums not trusting him. And it was the Blancian king's distress call that drew the Loonatics into this trap. Not wholly liking Tech's amused answer of 'he's well enough,' Danger automatically formed a couple of fire eggs, but remembered to dissipate them before they backfired on him. "What did you do to the little feather duster!?"

"Me? Nothing. Any predicament that the Royal Tweetums might find himself in is by his own feathered hand." Done with his initial analysis, Tech stepped back and clicked the safety off his bazooka-like guns.

Hmm. Despite himself, Danger found he trusted Tech. The scientist always was a stickler for the truth . . . at least the truth as he saw it. Tweetums might be in a some sort of 'predicament' as the coyote said; but the mustard stain was okay, even if the coyote was the cause of it. The mallard squawked in alarm as the coyote grinned evilly at him, his eyes and hands glowing green. Tech blasted the duck, augmenting his magnetism ability with the guns. Danger instinctively quacked and was astounded that he ended up not at some random point, but next to Rev and Slam in their frictionless force spheres. Both roadrunner and Tasmanian devil were locked in zero gravity bubbles that allowed them to run or spin to their hearts' content, but didn't let them go anywhere. On several occasions, Slam tried using his thunder mode to blast through his bubble, but being frictionless, he had only managed to catch himself in his own tornadoes.

"Mind releasing them while you're there, Duck?" Tech asked with a grin. As Danger shook off his surprise at suddenly finding himself free, the coyote approached Lexi.

The pink hued bunny was clamped into a parabolic helmet that bounced her brain blasts back on her whenever she tried to use her power. She held still while the genius disconnected it, not wanting to experience any energy backlash. Lexi learned the hard way of the device's effectiveness. When first captured, she used a brain blast when she thought that Slyth Vester might eat her teammates. It had knocked her back into oblivion. Tech removed the parabolic helmet and led the she-bunny over to his pursuit cycle.

Rev rushed over to his 'little brother' as soon as Danger released him, but stopped short as Tech thrust the tip of a Guardian Strike Sword at him. "Eep! . . . Tech?"

Tech smiled slightly at the red hued roadrunner. Then it flickered and was gone. The speedster wondered what could have changed his friend-brother so much in such a relatively short space of time. Tech turned the hilt toward the speedster, handing over the blade. "Free Ace."

In a blaze that literally set fire to the checkerboard, Rev dashed to the giant Ace of Hearts card. In a flash he sliced through Ace's ankle and wrist cuffs and pulled off his leader. Ace fell and only Rev holding him up kept the bunny from hitting the floor. The Loonatic leader had no idea how long he'd been stuck there, but it felt like an eternity. Ignoring the searing pain shooting through his cramped arms as best he could, Ace ripped off his blindfold and peeled away the tape from his eyelids. Even the dim light of the prison dimension hurt after so long of not seeing. He could barely see or move. Ace fumbled at his belt, then breathed a sigh of relief when he found the hilt that would extend into his own guardian Strike Sword still there. At least Grannicus hadn't taken it. Likely neither she nor Slyth recognized it for what it was.

Seeing Rev care for Ace and Danger tangled up with Slam, Lexi smiled. The Loonatics were free again! The doe bunny studied her newly returned friend. Though fashionable enough in a Gothic sort of way, Tech's features were gaunt and haggard looking. In his bandanna, flight jacket, black T and pants, complete with chains and spikes, the coyote looked rough. Real rough. She'd seen nicer looking gang members. "You look awful."

"Thanks. I look better than I feel." As Lexi went to hug him, Tech grabbed the doe bunny around her waist and swung her up onto the police cycle. He mounted in front of her. The green coyote answered the pink tinted bunny's surprise at the treatment by pointing out the fact that her enviro-suit's wing blades were still damaged; he'd just give her a lift. Tech had noticed the pink blades on the repair pile back on Blanc.

"The wormhole will take you back to Blanc," Tech called to the others as he revved his bike and put it in gear.

"Now hold on dere, Tech." Still blinking against the light, Ace stepped forward to confront the coyote. His legs refused to hold him and again Rev caught the bunny. Despite his weakened state, the yellow toned bunny was prepared to blast the coyote with his laser vision. "You got a lot ta answer for, mister."

"I'm sorry Ace, but I just don't have time for this right now." Tech stiffened. He'd hoped to grab Lexi and get out of there before she or any of the Loonatics grew too suspicious. He felt Lexi shift behind him. The coyote magnetically sneaked one of his chains to encircle her . . . so the pink bunny wouldn't fall off the bike, of course. "Tweetums will get over the red button disaster soon and close down the wormhole. That would trap us all here. Then there will be no one to stop the Martians' attack."

"Da Martians?" Ace blinked. The Martains were allies . . . weren't they?

Danger quacked over to his leader and Rev, leaving Slam to pick himself up from the smashed remains of the devil's zero gravity bubble. The orange mallard then quacked Ace, and Rev as he still supported his leader's weight, aside. "Tech will tell the truth, at least as he sees it. The genius is nothing if not grounded in fact. But how do we really know what the coyote's agenda is? And just who are the Martians going to attack? For all we know, it's Tech. And he sure ain't the coyote we used to know."

"Oh,-come-on-guys. We-know-Tech,-well-I-guess-we-also-know-Melvin-the-Martian. But-we-really-know-Tech,-at-least-we-used-to-before-he-turned-traitor-and-when-we-first-met-Melvin,-he-tried-to-destroy-Acmetropolis. Of-course,-the-next-time-we-met-him-was-on-Freleng-with-Zadavia-so-maybe-he-really-isn't-so-bad." Realizing that he wasn't really helping Tech's case here, Rev shook his head then tried again. "I-mean,-Tech-was-a-Loonatic-and-maybe-we-should-give-him-the-benefit-of-the-doubt. And-anyway,-if-the-Royal-Tweetums-is-going-to-close-the-wormhole,-maybe-we-should-get-back-to-Blanc-first-and-then-figure-out-this-whole-mess."

"Ya got a point dere, Rev, but I gotta go with da Duckster on dis one." Ace pulled away from Rev and stretched. His muscles were finally starting to loosen up. He replied quietly so that Tech wouldn't overhear them. "After da stunts he's pulled, I don't trust 'Rin Tin Tin' any farther dan I can throw him."

Tech eased his bike closer, eying Ace. "I'm flattered. With your martial arts skills and the zero point gravity of space, that 'throw' just might be far enough."

Danger grumbled. "I thought Lexi was the one with super hearing."

"Well that's life in the phase shift." Tech held up his arm, tapping the wrist communicator that he picked up from the Loonatics' Blanc headquarters. He'd heard every word that they said. The genius checked his wrist chronometer. "Time's up." A slight sneer marred the coyote's face. It was either him . . . or the Martians. "So which devil are you going to dance with?"

Ace studied the coyote with his enhanced vision. He saw anger and desperation, as well as a wily cunning, but nothing overtly evil. "Alrighty den. Let's do it." Ace said decisively. As he watched Tech head out with Lexi, the Loonatic leader desperately hoped that he knew what he was doing. "But as soon as we get back to HQ, we're gonna talk."

Tech sped for the wormhole, but just inside its mouth, he dropped through the slit in the fabric of the continuum that he'd made earlier. To the Loonatics, it seemed like the coyote and bunny just vanished.

Rev ran to the breach, his eyes glowing red as he traced Tech with his internal GPS. "He's-dropped-into-N-space. Which,-as-you-know-is-normal-space,-as-opposed-to-hyper-space-like-what-is-in-the-wormholes. If-we-hurry-we-can-follow-him,-though-since-you-are-in-pretty-poor-shape,-Ace-maybe-you-should-go-ahead-and-take-the-wormhole-back-home-to-Blanc. You-could-check-up-on-Tweetums-and-make-sure-that-he's-okay,-though-since-Tech-said-that-he's-okay,-I-bet-he-is. But-I'm-going-after-Tech-and-Lexi!"

"We all are." Ace announced. He fired up his enviro-suit and rocketed over to the speedster. "Loonatics, let's jet."


	14. Chapter 14

Loonatics Unleashed:

"Silent Conspiracy"

(This story is post Season Two – after the cartoon series.)

Rated T for Intrigue.

Disclaimer: Loonatics Unleashed, Duck Dodgers in the 24th and ½ Century, Looney Tunes, and all related Characters and Elements are trademarks of Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Other references, lyrics and quotes belong to their individual artists, authors, copyrights, or trademarks.

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Pink Triangle.

When Tech revved the bike, Lexi instinctively grabbed the coyote around the middle to keep from sliding off the back of the pursuit cycle. There was nothing else to hang on to. The bike looked as if a good half of it had been sheared away, giving the pink hued bunny the distinct impression that Tech's escape had been rocky. She didn't even notice when they left the wormhole and dropped into normal space.

With her hands on the coyote's waist, Lexi felt how terribly thin he was. She could feel Tech's ribs stick out even through his clothes and fur. "Tech? how long have you been out of prison?"

"3 hours, 18 minutes, and 42 seconds," Tech replied, checking his watch. The coyote turned and smiled, showing more sharp, canine teeth than anyone cared to face in a dark alley . . . or in a dark corner of the universe. " . . . and counting."

Only three and a half hours? Lexi's bright green eyes widened. What had happened to Tech in prison that even his molecular regeneration couldn't restore him? The doe bunny squirmed nervously, her rabbit instincts kicking in as she realized that she was out in the interstellar void sharing intimate space with a half-starved predator.

The two anthromorphs' wrist communicators crackled to life and Tech instantly turned on the music player full blast. He wasn't in the mood to talk to his ex-leader. The Loonatics didn't want to talk to him while he was imprisoned; he didn't want to talk to them now. Besides, there was no sense in Ace riling up Lexi. It would be easier if she didn't struggle just yet.

"_Now I will tell you what I've done for you: Fifty thousand tears I've cried. Screaming, deceiving and bleeding for you, And you still won't hear me. I'm going under . . . __Don't want your hand this time, I'll save myself, Maybe I'll wake-up for once. Not tormented daily, defeated by you . . . Just when I thought I'd reached the bo__ttom. I'm dying again . . . I'm go__ing under . . ._"

Lexi clamped her hands to her sensitive ears, but since the music was broadcasting inside her enviro-suit, her action did little to block the loud noise. Lexi hastily reached past Tech to turn down the player. She couldn't hear the coyote's growl, but he clamped a vice-like grip around her wrist and turned her hand aside. Then he relented and dug out a pair of earplugs for the pink toned bunny. The loud music must be murder on her delicate ears.

The pink doe gratefully tucked the earplugs into her ears, reaching through the special transparent faceplate of her enviro-suit to do so. Tech's own design, the faceplate was invisible to an observer, giving the impression of the wearer being exposed to the harshness of whatever environment that he or she was in. In reality, it was an amalgam of solid and energy barriers that allowed the wearer to reach in while preventing their own atmosphere from escaping. The noise level dropped radically. It was a unique experience for the bunny to have the rhythm vibrating through her entire body without it blasting her ears. Now that her ears didn't hurt, she recognized the song, "Going Under," from one of her own, seldom listened to, collections. Effervescence, the same group that she'd been listening to earlier in fact. Tech must have snagged her music player before coming to free the Loonatics from the prison dimension. Lexi had to admit that Gothic Rock seemed uncannily apt, though she could wish for a better selection of travel music. Next in the play list, "Taking Over Me" by the same group started.

"_You don't remember me, but I remember you . . .._"

The earplugs were a waste. Snarling quietly to himself at his own soft-heartedness, Tech broke a connection in both his and Lexi's wrist communicators . . . opposite to what he had done before while escaping. He couldn't risk Lexi picking up transmissions through the music with her super hearing. There! Ace and the others could receive, and _enjoy_, the music; but neither Lexi nor he could receive transmissions from the Loonatics.

" . . . _I believe in you. I'll give up everything just to find you. I have to be with you to live, to breath . . . You're taking over me. I look in the mirror and see your face, if I look deep enough. So many things inside that just like you are taking over . . .._"

Kept from communicating with anyone by the loud music, including the taciturn coyote in front of her, Lexi watched the distant points of light that were the stars of the Clampett galaxy. A crease furrowed her brow. If they were still in a wormhole, wouldn't she be seeing the colorful nebulae and constellations closeup through the distortion of the space-time continuum? She wished she could ask Tech about it, but wondered if he'd answer her even if she could make herself heard.

The Martian armada came into view, a swarm of ships that blacked out the stars. The size of a small moon, the imperial Galactic Death Cruiser dominated the center of the fleet. Multitudes of small, gold and red spherical warships, each hooped with a stabilizer ring, buzzed around the mobile Martian base ship. The armada was still quite far out from Blanc, but even without traveling by wormhole, they would arrive before the pathetic planet's leader saw another dawn.

Weaving their way through the assorted battle crafts, Tech guided the pursuit cycle right up to the Galactic Death Cruiser without once being challenged. Using a subspace control pad, the wily coyote systematically programmed the Martian armada, not only to ignore the tiny pursuit cycle, but to lower its defenses as well. He also kept the Death Cruiser's impenetrable forcefield from going back up behind him. He'd recently come to appreciate exactly how important escape routes could be.

Looking over Tech's shoulder, Lexi watched the genius figuratively walk through the Martians' security. The pink hued bunny realized for the first time just how dangerous the green coyote was. Tech had the cunning to plot this scheme, the knowledge to implement it, and the determination to see it through to the bitter end.

Nervous and uncertain, Lexi nonetheless calmed herself as they slipped into the planetoid-sized Death Cruiser's forward docking bay. As far as she knew, the other Loonatics all went back to Blanc and she was on her own. She also wanted to give Tech the benefit of the doubt. The bunny sincerely hoped that her wayward friend really did want to stop an invasion. But even if he didn't, she had to keep a cool head and watch and wait for her chance.

The Martian's flagship was also docked in the bay. Dwarfed by the Battle Cruiser flagship, Tech parked his pursuit cycle by it nonetheless. Lexi took out the earplugs as Tech turned off the music and they dismounted.

"Intruders make me so angry!" Furious at being infiltrated, Melvin met the anthropomorphic aliens with Sergeant Sirius and a full squad of Centurion robots all armed and aiming at the intruders. "You SHALL be annihilated!"

"Greetings, Melvin, General supreme of Mars' fleet." Tech inclined his head slightly to the short Martian. The ebony, cannonball headed commander wore the same army green, Romanesque helmet and kilt hip armor as when the coyote first encountered him back during Acmetropolis' invasion. "I come bearing a gift."

"Nothing like the last one, I trust?" A dower expression settled in Melvin's blue-grey eyes. The last gift delivered him by members of an alien race had proved quite destructive. The Martian's mechanical dog, also wearing Romanesque helmet and armor, beeped and barked out a reminder. Melvin lowered his gun, but signaled his squad to remain alert. "True, Sergeant Sirius, even though this canid-person was affiliated with that group of aliens at the time, he didn't actually sneak aboard my battle cruiser with the Loonatics."

"No, no, no, nothing like a Trojan horse." Tech smirked, remembering the first Trojan horse that they had delivered to the loose cannon, a literal horse mock-up to smuggle several of the Loonatics into the Martian's ship. The second 'Trojan' he'd delivered was the computer code he'd used to hide his electronic tracks before his arrest. A Trojan was a program that replaced an existing program with it's own version, as opposed to a Worm; a similar code but one that targeted only networks and infected an exploit. Certain that the general was not interested in computer virus subtleties, Tech simply stepped back to reveal Lexi. Time to see if bringing a 'peace offering' was enough to gain him access to the Martian Death Cruiser. "This time I brought 'Helen!'"

"What!?!" The chain that loosely encircled Lexi glowed green and tightened around her. Simultaneously a set of power dampening cuffs, the same ones used to capture the genius in the first place, clipped themselves around her wrists. The doe bunny practically snarled as Tech handed her over to Melvin. The lousy coyote had planned this all along! He'd even painted the cuffs pink! The chain and cuffs forced Lexi's 'cooperation' as Melvin guided her and Tech out of the forward docking bay.

"Oooo, goody! I haven't had a decent game of Celestial Checkers for quite some time." Melvin was glad that the canid-person returned his playmate. Though he did instruct his Centurion robots to relieve the visiting coyote of his weapons . . . for safe keeping, of course. On the way to Queen Tyrr'henia's battle throne room situated in the main bridge, Melvin and Tech chatted about games and gaming strategies, but the stunted Martian's mind wasn't wholly on the conversation. Grannicus had indicated that the Loonatics were dead. It was good that she and her lackey were re-caught. The only one to double cross on a deal, was him!

"You've become quite a hot commodity of late." Melvin commented as he led the alien spy before the Martian queen. "You can tell the quality of a hero by the caliber of his enemies, I always say. It is an honor to have you aboard."

The threesome entered a spacious, red tinted room. A massive throne atop a dais dominated the circular chamber, while several large, vulture-like creatures attended the figure sitting there. Each of the green Martian creatures had the same pink feathered topknot and down-turned beak, making them all look like clones of each other. And each was playing music, fanning the queen, or offering her sweetmeats or other delicacies as befitted her station. Green metallic Centurion robots stood guard around the periphery. Seated on her vermilion throne, the Martian queen ignored the servants around her, more intent on a holographic projection of Mars' holdings. General Melvin stopped at the foot of the dais.

"You will await her majesty's pleasure here," the general instructed Tech. Melvin then motioned the bunny with his gun. He held no delusions; Lexi was here against her will. His Centurions would see to the queen's continued safety. He had a potentially hostile alien to attend to. "Come along, Helen."

"No, Tech! Please!" Lexi struggled against her bonds, but it was no use. "Are you friend or foe?"

"What's the matter, Lexi? Are you xenophobic?" Tech asked coolly.

"Tech! how could you?!" Lexi's voice raised, angry at the betrayal.

"How could I what?" Tech's chill voice turned downright cold. "Betray you? Imprison you with no explanation? Turn my back on you and walk away?"

Tech's words diffused Lexi's anger. She couldn't meet the coyote's eyes, green fire simmering in their depths. That was exactly what the Loonatics had done to him.

Tech's voice pitched lower, sounding as a growl. "I had very good teachers."

As Melvin motioned for Lexi to get moving, Tech's hand glowed green. The coyote recalled the chain binding his ex-teammate and re-wound it around his shoulder. He really ought to keep ferrous material about his person at all times. It helped in subduing adversaries over whom his magnetism normally wouldn't have much hold. Lexi could be Melvin's problem to keep under control. He would stay with the queen.

Tears fill Lexi's eyes and she looked back up at her one time friend. She stammered an apology, but Tech sharply cut her off before her tears could rend his heart. His voice grew rough with emotions that he'd thought dead. "Don't worry about it, Lex. You did what you had to . . . just as I'm doing what I have to now."

Mistaking Tech's gruffness for hate, Lexi lowered her gaze, her tears falling unheeded to the floor. She allowed Melvin to usher her out. After all the little twerp had a gun trained on her. She was still cuffed, and without her powers or her friends, what choice did she have?

Pink Triangle.

"T'anks, Slam." Ace stretched, feeling almost normal again. The ex-wrestler had expertly massaged out the bunny's kinks that he'd gotten in the prison dimension. The leader of the Loonatics turned his attention to the battle fleet before them. Following Tech and Lexi had led them here, but try as they might, they couldn't catch up. Their enviro-suits were just not as fast as the coyote's pursuit cycle. Luckily he'd thought to make Rev promise to stay with the group and not speed ahead. The Loonatic leader didn't want them charging separately into unknown danger.

Rev tapped his leader on the arm to get his attention, then tapped his own wrist with a questioning look on his face. Ace stifled a smile. Ever since Rev broke his communicator, traveling anywhere outside an atmosphere had become much quieter. Still he took the roadrunner's meaning and tuned his own wrist communicator back into Tech's and Lexi's frequencies. When the coyote cranked up the music on his end, the Loonatics had tuned them out for their ears' sake.

**Come along, Helen.**

**No, Tech! Please! Are you friend or foe?**

**What's the matter, Lexi? Are you xenophobic?**

"At least da music's gone." Relief that his ears were spared rapidly dissolved into anger as Ace clued in to what the overheard conversation was about.

Unable to hear what the others heard, Rev nonetheless became alarmed at the expressions of his teammates. What was going on? Man! the speedster hated being cut out of the loop. Especially when he was right there. It was driving him berserk not to be able to hear or talk to his friends. The roadrunner turned his attention to the Martian armada arrayed before them. Since the ships had not responded to their presence, Rev figured that Tech must have sabotaged their security and that it wasn't yet restored. That meant that the impenetrable forcefields that surrounded Martian ships were likely down as well. They could all just walk in.

"So help me, I'll kill him. And when Tech regenerates, I'll kill him again!" Fury blazed bright yellow in Ace's eyes. "He just kidnapped Lexi and turned her over ta de Martians! How could he betray us like dis?"

**How could I what? Betray you? Imprison you with no explanation? Turn my back on you and walk away? . . . I had very good teachers.**

The coyote's words coming over the communicator struck Ace like a slap in the face. His laser vision powered down and his shoulders slumped. The yellow bunny feared that _he_ was Tech's best instructor.

Danger shook his head in disbelief. It was as he'd said before. No matter how you try, you could never really tame a coyote. "Well, I guess we all know which devil Tech is dancing with."

"Rrhhng ppptttt me." Slam garbled the response, then slammed one fist into his other palm. The Tasmanian devil was a forgiving sort, but Tech had no right to sell out Lexi!

"And Tech's devil ain't of the Tasmanian variety." But Ace was still conflicted between indignation on Lexi's behalf and guilt. "Okay, hold on here. First we rescue Lexi. Den we get da coyote and get out. We let Tech explain t'ings. And den . . .."

"And THEN we kill him." Danger finished for his leader.

Finally losing patience with his teammates, Rev jetted forward, following in his little brother's wake. He didn't know what was going on, but he was going to find out!

Red Triangle.

Tech stood at the foot of the royal dais intently studying his surroundings while he waited. The queen's throne room was actually set in the lower level of the Galactic Death Cruiser's bridge. It made sense enough he supposed. Aside from the engine room, the bridge was the most heavily reinforced section of any Martian warship. Tech looked up. Sure enough, almost directly overhead was the commander's platform where General Melvin could stand to oversee, and command, the entire operation. The genius learned more about the Martians in those few minutes of silent observation than he had in all of his previous studies of the race. The coyote learned their sight, their sound, and their scent . . . as well as their demeanor, motivation, and mindset.

A hologram depicting the planets under Martian rule, complete with their associated moons and rings where applicable, surrounded Queen Tyrr'henia. The Martian empire was greatly stressed to produce all the power it needed. The hologram planets were quite detailed. At a flick of her hand, all relevant data appeared by any given planet as well. Its resources, productivity, and expected useful life before it was depleted and no longer of use to the Martian empire could be instantly reviewed. Even with the highly advanced Martian science, it still needed raw resources to flourish.

The Martians employed nearly their entire populous in one form or another in the managing of their conquered planets. There simply were not enough Martian people to maintain the slave planets and man the army. As a result, most of said army was automated, utilizing Centurion robots. Only a very small fraction of 'real people' were generals to oversee the battles. Even General Melvin's officer, Sergeant Sirius, was nothing more than a sophisticated robot dog. The Martian army didn't employ automated destroyers out of consideration for the lives of their people. They did it because they needed their people to manage the necessary resources.

The queen waved her hand again, banishing the holographic report. Yes, it was a vicious cycle of conquest to gather power for more conquest, but she never had been daunted by viciousness. Tyrr'henia turned to the coyote awaiting her pleasure. "As you no doubt know, I am Queen Tyrr'henia."

"Tyrrhenia? Wasn't that the Pre-Roman, Etruscan civilization from which the Tyrrhenian Sea got its name?" Tech mused. This was his first time meeting any Martians personally. There were marked differences between the general and the queen. While both shared the same ebony complexion and features that only revealed eyes, the outward similarities seemed to end there. Melvin was short and Romanesque; the queen, slim and tall, was garbed as an ancient Egyptian princess. And her long, pure white hair complimented her wide eyes. "It seems that Mars and my home planet have had a long standing relationship with each other."

"One, I am sure, that you and I can renew now, my clever genius." Queen Tyrr'henia sat forward in her throne. My, wasn't the alien coyote the clever one! Though angered that the spy had brought the general a gift but neglected her, she still was willing to accept him into her service. The anthromorph was just an alien, after all, albeit an excessively intelligent one. With a little schooling to catch him up on Martian technology . . . and some obedience training to tame the anthropomorphic canine, he would make quite a valuable scientific advisor. He would learn proper social decorum soon enough. "I must admit, I am somewhat surprised that you have delivered yourself to me."

"I recently lived in a 'gated community,' but I found the lifestyle a tad . . . restrictive." Though cordial as befitted royalty, Tech detected a coolness from the queen. Although that also might befit royalty, the green coyote feared that he'd made a social faux pas in bringing the General a peace offering and not the queen. He hadn't known that she was here or he would have made different arrangements. "I found I needed a change of scenery."

The queen raised one elegant, white brow; intrigued at the coyote's euphemistic reference to the prison. "And that 'change of scenery' brought you here?" Though phrased as a question, it was really a statement of fact. Tyrr'henia knew that there was no other viable option for the coyote on the run.

"Indeed. Though this is just a visit . . . at least for now." Tech smiled, keeping it small to avoid showing too many sharp teeth. The queen was obviously displeased that he'd breached protocol in failing to bring her a peace offering. But he couldn't apologize. With such a domineering being as the queen, it would be seen as weakness . . . and he could ill afford to negotiate from a position of weakness. But perhaps it wasn't too late. He'd just have to manage to get an appropriate gift to deliver himself to her. The genius discretely checked his wrist communicator. Good, it was still broadcasting. The coyote knew from Ace trying to contact him earlier that the Loonatics had followed instead of returning to Blanc. They shouldn't be too far behind, and what better gift for the Martian queen than the leader of the Loonatics? "Though I must confess a certain embarrassment. Your gift seems to be late in arriving."

"Oh I do hope it's that cute Danger Duck!" Suddenly delighted, Queen Tyrr'henia's violet eyes lit up and she clapped with anticipation. Perhaps the genius wouldn't need much remedial training after all.

"Him? Why ever would you want Danger Duck?" Tech was surprised to discover that the Martian queen fancied the mallard. He didn't let the revelation faze him, though. With Danger's ego it shouldn't be hard to lure him instead of Ace. "He was nominated 'the greatest screwup action hero of all time.'"

"Who's a screwup?! Wait till I cover you in tar eggs then we'll see who's the screwup me or you!" Using his communicator Quack Finder as a guide, Danger quacked in pointing first to Tech, then to himself. Ace's voice carried over the mallard's wrist communicator, yelling at the duck to wait.

"Ah! Perfect." Tech deftly netted his ex-teammate with the neuron net ionizer. The electro-net interfered with the communicator as well as with the mallard's quantum quack. Ace's frustrated voice cut out. Bowing slightly, the genius handed over the net control box to the Martian. "Signed, sealed, and delivered, Queen Tyrr'henia. He's yours."

"Eeeek!" Danger squeaked as he realized that he just quacked into a trap.

Squealing with delight herself, Tyrr'henia flung her slender arms around her new 'rubber ducky' and hugged him tightly to her chest. Then her brows drew together in a frown. The net tingled uncomfortably. "Do I get to 'unwrap' my present?"

"I don't see why not." Tech shrugged and, taking back the controls, prepared to dissipate the net. "Just remember, Duck has a hard time quacking out of a tight squeeze . . . he always has."

Squeezing Danger even tighter than before, Tyrr'henia nodded to the canid-person. Tech clicked off the net. "Oh, that's much better, isn't it, Ducky?"

Danger glared at Tech. Quantum quacking was much more difficult than most people assumed. Being so great, he just made it look easy. It required a great deal of concentration and practice to end up where you wanted and not in a monitor, iceberg or other object, as he had on numerous occasions when he first got his powers. The orange and black clad mallard gulped when the dark beauty holding him began running her fingers through the unruly feathers on the top of his head. The Martian queen was VERY distracting, and the coyote was right, he couldn't quack out. "Tech, you're despicable!"

"Oh? Having troubles with your own 'hot villainess' are you?" Tech asked in mock congeniality.

Danger found himself alternately defiant one moment and seduced the next. Tyrr'henia was lovely in an exotic, alien sort of way, and wealthy to boot. The mallard's eyes riveted of their own accord to the wide gold bands encircling the arms that bound him. He vigorously shook the image of all that gleaming gold from his mind. He was Danger Duck, hero of the cosmos! He was not anyone's prisoner or slave! . . no matter how pleasant the captivity. Distracted as he was, Danger didn't follow Tech and the queen's conversation; just the passing of a remarkably large, sparkling gem from one hand to another.

"What do you make of this?" Freeing one hand long enough to remove the exquisitely cut gem from her purple and gold headband, Queen Tyrr'henia tossed the green crystal to Tech to test the canid-person's intelligence . . . and his motivations.

Tech ran his handheld scanner over the glowing crystal, raising his brows in surprise at the energy readings he got. "Unless I am mistaken, this is the core to Martian energy technology, this one crystal is capable of powering this entire station many times over. Tossing around such a power source is dangerous play, milady. If I hadn't caught it, our audience would have been cut drastically short."

Tyrr'henia nodded once in affirmation, but continued to run her fingers over Danger's handsome features . . . the noble brow, the fine curve of his bill. All the while she continued her interview of the alien spy. Tech was bright. Indeed he would make a most excellent scientific advisor. "That is a Gordovian energy crystal. The planet of Greater Gordon and its octopodal Reptilian inhabitants fell to the Martians several centuries ago, but the Greater Govdovian Principalities are still one of the richest sources of energy for my people."

"Interesting." Tech tossed the crystal back. It would take more than the elusive promise of power to persuade him. He'd passed the 'hard touch' of prison, he would not now fall to the queen's 'soft touch.'

Queen Tyrr'henia's violet eyes narrowed as she contemplated the spy. So the coyote was not motivated by power lust. She would have to dig a little deeper for his weak spot.

Danger caught the gem that Tech tossed back, admiring its shimming green glow. No doubt about it. He was in love!

Orange Triangle.

.

A/N Certain Gordon references from "Duck Dodgers in the 24th and ½ Century" episode "Talent Show A Go Go."


	15. Chapter 15

Loonatics Unleashed:

"Silent Conspiracy"

(This story is post Season Two – after the cartoon series.)

Rated T for Intrigue.

Disclaimer: Loonatics Unleashed, Duck Dodgers in the 24th and ½ Century, Looney Tunes, and all related Characters and Elements are trademarks of Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Other references, lyrics and quotes belong to their individual artists, authors, copyrights, or trademarks.

.

"Ow!" Lexi landed on her tail in the center of the arena-sized checkerboard as another pink checker-scooter was shrunk out from underneath her. It would have been her winning move too! Melvin was a terrible loser . . . and an even worse winner. He was as bad as Danger in gloating, but the Martian was also a cheater.

"Ha, ha! Helen! Silly rabbit, bow before the Celestial Checkers master. " Melvin banked his own army-green gaming scooter around the pink Acmetropolis bunny. "I win again! Ooh, I love this game."

"My name is Lexi." The pink Loonatic said through gritted teeth. She suspected that the short cannonball headed Martian really remembered her name, but was just trying to be funny. "So, Melvin, what are we shrinking this time? Not another planet, I hope."

"No, just a belt of asteroids to clear a path for the fleet. I know it is not as thrilling as civilization targets, but when we arrive at Blanc it will be more interesting," Melvin said reassuringly. The Martian general reset the board for another round of Celestial checkers.

"Look, Melvin, don't you do anything else around here for fun?" Lexi's question seemed to strangely affect the little cannonball; she fidgeted uncomfortably. For having only eyes as facial features, the Martian's ebony face sure was expressive. He was staring at her as if she were some sort of alien . . . which, come to think of it, in his eyes at least, she actually was.

Melvin gazed at Lexi standing demurely before him. He had no idea that the alien creature held feelings for him. Perhaps he should make this into a date to see if he liked her any better than just as a captive gaming partner. Suddenly shy, he looked down at his white sport shoes, his feet self consciously crossing over each other. Melvin remembered Lexi commenting favorably before on his fashion sense. "Oh, peachy! Come along, Helen."

"I'm not . . .." But finding herself face to face with a snarling Sergeant Sirius, Lexi swallowed her protest and followed Melvin. She would escape and warn the others about the Martians, but she had to wait until she wasn't so closely guarded . . . or until she could figure out a way to remove her pink power dampening cuffs. The instant Lexi complied, Sirius resumed his normal dopey, slack tongued expression and happily trotted alongside them. The robot dog might not be the brightest in terms of artificial intelligence, Tech had designed their vacuum cleaner with a higher IQ, but the mechanical hound was fiercely loyal to his master. The pink bunny was beginning to wonder what her Martian captor considered 'fun.'

"In accordance to tradition, the various Martian families assimilate tokens from previous failed conquests. These tokens are usually manifest in clothing styles and catch phrases of the victor. It is a tribute to a worthy adversary as well as a reminder for us to learn from past failures." Since she had expressed an interest in Martian fashion, Melvin explained the tradition to Lexi as he led her to the sector of the Galactic Death Cruiser reserved for his personal use. The general didn't usually invite others into his private rooms, but there was something special about the cute alien bunny. "My own family line is influenced by the Roman period on Earth . . . the royal line, by the ancient Egyptian. We Martians have not been defeated for many millennia. Ah! Here we are!"

Melvin proudly indicated a closed door that they came to halfway down one corridor. "Sergeant Sirius, if you please?"

The mechanical k-9 bopped a button near the door and it swished open. Lexi followed Melvin into a room roughly the same size as her bedroom back at the Loonatics' headquarters. It was completely empty. The small Martian looked steadfastly up at her as if awaiting her verdict. "Uh, what is this place?"

"This, my dear little bunny, is my personal Spheroid Kinematics Laboratory." Melvin was pleased at the look of stunned awe that fell over his gaming partner's face.

"Your what?!" Stunned incredulity stole over Lexi's features. What in the worlds was a sphere-whatever lab? And where did the space shrimp get off calling her 'little?' Melvin only came up to her middle!

Glee lighting his blue-grey eyes, Melvin signaled his sergeant again. This time, at the press of a button, great hatches swung open from the ceiling and a veritable cascade of brightly colored, empty plastic balls rained down. The balls clattered and bounced everywhere until they filled the room, burying the bunny up to her waist and completely covering the Martian general and his sergeant. A final pink ball dropped from the ceiling after the rest had stopped falling. It bounced off the top of Lexi's head.

"Wheeee!" Melvin jumped up from the mass of plastic balls, flinging colorful spheres into the air. He used his boot jets to lift him up eye level with Lexi. "There's nothing I enjoy more than frolicking in a room filled with empty plastic balls."

Lexi stubbornly crossed her arms over her chest. She was not at all amused at the Martian's antics.

"Come, try it. You know you want to," Melvin cajoled teasingly.

"No! it's childish." Lexi could not believe that the great Martian General actually played in a room of empty plastic balls. More likely her captor was just testing her, to see what idiotic and demeaning things he could get her to do for his own amusement.

"What is the use of being an adult if you can't act childish once in a while?" Melvin asked, once again drawing on old Earth documentaries. This one was from a scientific journal series called 'Doctor Who.' "The more complex the mind, the simpler the pleasures to relax it. That's why many very intelligent beings relax with cartoons and other seemingly inane entertainments. Surely even your primitive bunny brain can comprehend that, Helen."

Lexi ground her teeth. "My name is not HELEN!"

A cunning gleam entered Melvin's eyes and he sank down into the plastic balls again. Suddenly, Lexi found her feet pulled out from under her and, with a shriek of surprise, she was buried as well.

Pink Triangle.

" . . . complete access to the technical libraries of course." Queen Tyrr'henia noticed Tech's ears twitch even as he fiddled with the miniaturized propulsion unit that she'd ordered a Centurion to donate for the coyote to study. Ah, at last! She was finally getting somewhere. Tyrr'henia and the canid anthromorph had been playing this game back and forth since his arrival. She making an offer he couldn't refuse, he sidestepping any actual commitment with some question or observation. It made for a nice diversion. Well, that and the incredibly cute orange and black clad duck still clutched in her arms. The Egyptian-esque queen ran her fingers through Danger's satin feathers. "Whatever fields you desire as a little schooling to catch you up on the latest Martian technology."

"Interesting." Tech's ears cocked as he observed the queen's play. The genius' hands fiddled with and adjusted the propulsion unit to greater efficiency almost of their own accord. He fitted the device back into the robot warrior, but when it attempted to hover, it shot out of control and into a monitor. Tech magnetized the robot out, adjusting the Centurion to compensate for the increase in output. Then he began repairs on the monitor. "Very interesting indeed."

Danger Duck shifted deeper into the cushions of the tall, angular throne, his discomfort at his predicament easing. More and more it seemed as if he, as well as Tech, were being drawn irretrievably into the Martian queen's web. The mallard found Tyrr'henia's closeness intoxicating. Sitting on the vermilion throne, surrounded by wealth and servants, and being fawned over by a very lovely lady, Danger was finding it harder and harder to even want to quack to safety . . . even if it meant becoming a servant himself. After all, what was an action hero if not a servant of the people? What difference, really, in being a servant to a noble queen? And this was certainly better than bathing the Royal Tweetums!

If there was anything that could temp Tech, it was the vastness of scientific knowledge from a civilization that was 10 million years beyond his own. But Danger knew that the green coyote would not promise something that he could not, or would not, keep. Nor would he lie. Though if someone misinterpreted what he said, he felt no compulsion to disabuse them of their fallacy. That thought bothered Danger and brought the mallard back out of his luxury induced stupor. What was Tech up to?

"But what I'd really like to know is:" Tech continued on with the queen's conversation while still working at the monitor station. "How is it that you are bringing up your entire armada into attack position around Blanc without any of the premier planets going on alert?"

"Child's play, really. I convinced the planetary leaders of a conspiracy of political takeover by faction or factions of unknown origin. A theory not only supported by the Martians, but devised and propagated by us as well." Actually very interested in getting Tech to join her, Tyrr'henia humored him with an answer. General Melvin was a brilliant military strategist, and no one could beat her in the political arena, but she had never before encountered anyone with such an intuitive grasp on all things scientific.

"And to think I lulled them to placidness by telling the truth. I told Zadavia that if we were intent on taking over any of the premier planets, we would simply swoop in and take them!" Tyrr'henia laughed, a very musical and enchanting sound. And a chill ran through Danger Duck.

Orange Triangle.

**. . . swoop in and take them! . . . And so we are!**

"I can't figure him. I can't figure out Tech's game." Ace muttered quietly to himself to avoid drowning out what the Martian queen was saying. Tech's communicator was still broadcasting. After Danger had rashly quacked out, he, Slam and Rev were the only Loonatics that remained free. The three of them had infiltrated the Galactic Death Cruiser and where crouched, hiding amid the shuttles in the forward hanger bay. Thunderstruck at the revelation that the Martians planned a takeover from the very beginning, Ace linked Tweetums and the rest of the planetary leaders into the broadcast, trying to quietly fill them in without obscuring the Martian queen's 'confession.' "Youse guys gotta hear dis!"

**The coupe never was political but literal. The confusion in the planet leaders kept them blind to the true threat. We chose this route of subtlety to reduce damage to the goods. And to garner more . . . 'assets.'**

The three remaining Loonatics heard Danger in the background. The mallard seemed to be protesting, but at least the anseriform was safe enough . . . for the time being at least.

**Acquiring the remaining Loonatics' aid would be ideal. Though I doubt, Queen Tyrr'henia, that even you would be able to sway Ace over to your side.**

Ace made a quick mental note. Okay, find the queen and they'd find Danger and Tech. But where was Lexi? Again the musical laughter sounded.

**Too bad really. But then the lagomorph is only a rabbit with laser vision. A robot with a laser pistol is just as good, and more obedient.**

**I've been out of circulation for a while, but the rumors have been quite intriguing. You must be quite the strategist yourself, majesty.**

*Oh not me, Tech, General Melvin orchestrated the political attacks on Freleng, Acmetropolis, and Blanc. Though Melvin tells me that Optimatus unwittingly provided him with most of the pertinent information. We would have already succeeded except that it is so hard to find competent help these days. Each set of flunkies threatened our plans, and ended up sabotaging their own efforts. The Music Villain added subliminal messages that the Loonatics traced on Freleng. I was actually present for that ploy, ready to step in and take over. But when it failed, it would have been too suspicious, and dangerous, for me to personally oversee the others. On Acmetropolis, even after I gave orders that my darling duck was to be spared, Pinkster let his lust for revenge against Danger Duck blind him to the other Loonatics, allowing them take out the curium cannon. Then Grannicus tried to claim Blanc's throne before opening up a wormhole to let a strike force through to eliminate Freleng's Army as well as Tweetums' egg troops. Everyone of our pawns failed . . . except, of course, for you, Tech. You and your reputation for brilliance have been the perfect foil. Oh, now don't scowl. That is all in the past. Now it is time for you to take your rightful place . . ..**

"Alrighty gang, I've heard enough. We got work ta do." In short order, Ace set Rev and Slam to sabotage the Galactic Death Cruiser while he set off to rescue their missing teammates. The Loonatic leader would rather have had Slam come with him as the Tasmanian devil wouldn't be of much use to Rev, but they had only two functioning wrist communicators between the three of them. And really, if Rev was discovered, he'd need Slam to protect him. "Be fast, be efficient, be safe. Do your job, den we meet back here."

Yellow Triangle.

"You initially called for my incarceration?" Tech had suspected as much. The coyote had tracked the Martians' movements practically up to the moment of his arrest. He was just surprised at Queen Tyrr'henia's candor regarding the matter. The genius could admire her adherence to the truth.

Though Tyrr'henia felt considerable pride in that particular aspect of the plan, it was with a tone of carefully gaged regret that the tall, slender alien continued her explanation. "We needed to shift attention away from us and switch the blame to someone else. It was nothing personal. You understand, of course."

"Of course." Internally, Tech snarled. Nothing personal?! Destroying someone's life, friendships, and reputation was 'nothing personal?' Well, it was personal now! The decision that inwardly he knew all along that he would make suddenly became much easier.

Purple Triangle.

"Rrhhng pppttttnngbl kkrrnkkrrn this?" Slam held up the fist-sized cube. The control unit that Rev pulled from the internal workings of the Death Cruiser hummed pleasantly and glowed with a myriad of tiny winking lights. It looked delicious.

"Yes,-Slam,-I-need-that." Rev didn't even pull his head out of the access hatch when he answered the devil. It didn't matter what particular piece of equipment that Slam was referring to, he couldn't afford to have Slam eat it. The speedy roadrunner blindly held out a hand to his teammate. When the requested part failed to materialize in his hand, Rev straightened and looked at the purple hued Tasmanian devil.

"Whoa! No-eating-the-hardware!" Emerald eyes widening in alarm, the red hued runner revved up his super speed and snatched the cube out of Slam's mouth just before the devil crunched it. The gadgeteer flicked off the slobber then shoved the device into the Death Cruiser's internal workings. "Anyway,-I-did-something-similar-to-this-when-we-first-encountered-the-Martians-and-I-photon-lasered-out-the-primary-energy-processor,-but-instead-of-beaming-out-power-to-an-energy-regulator-as-I-did-the-first-time,-I-need-to-reroute-it-in-a-recursive-feedback-loop. Of-course-such-a-massive-power-build-up-will-destroy-a-sizable-section-of-the-Martian-fleet-as-well-as-the-entire-battle-station,-not-to-mention-us-along-with-it,-but-really-we-have-no-choice. The-fate-of-three-worlds-lie-in-the-balance-and-then-the-whole-universe! Not-that-I-really-like-condemning-all-us-Loonatics-to-death,-ooh,-that-actually-makes-me-queasy,-but-we-must-stop-the-invasion!"

Rev continued working even as he tried to convince himself of the necessity. The roadster took out the Guardian Strike Saber that Tech had given him when the coyote released the Loonatics from the prison dimension. The sword was coming in extremely handy. First the roadrunner cut open the thick metal shielding the core, now he quickly stripped away the insulation to reroute the connections. A shower of sparks shot out and Rev pulled back.

"Oops." The power flickered, then the entire Martian battle platform when dark with a loud ka-chunk. Two red spots appeared as Rev powered up his internal GPS ability in order to see where the short was. Using his super speed, the gadgeteer corrected the fault before anyone could come to investigate. "I-guess-that's-the-second-'oops'-moment-I've-had-recently. Only-this-in-an-even-bigger-oops-than-the-one-back-on-Acmetropolis-as-it-affected-the-entire-Galactic-Death-Cruiser-instead-of-just-the-supersonic-transport."

The lights came back on just as an idea occurred to Slam. Perhaps this didn't have to be a suicide mission after all. As soon as Rev was done here, they were to meet Ace, hopefully with Lexi and the others back at the docking bay. He and Rev could easily start the process of boosting a Martian spaceship as they did the first time the Loonatics encounter the Marians. The plan was none the worse for having been done before. Slam grinned. But why settle for a shuttle, or even a battleship, when a flagship was available?

"Okay,-that-should-do-it,-finis,-all-done,-let's-go! Time-to-get-back-to-the-rendezvous." Using the saber again, Rev resealed the shielding, hiding where the sabotage was done. He looked at a leftover piece part still in his hand. The speedster had no idea even what it was, let alone where it went. He tossed it to Slam. "Here-you-go,-enjoy."

Red Triangle.

"Would you like to partake of nutritious morsels with me?" Melvin asked politely even while he held Lexi at gunpoint. Frolicking in the ball room had been fun, but now it was time for sustenance.

"Oh fine." Lexi stomped on ahead. The cannonball's polite manners were starting to get on her nerves.

Beeping to get his master's attention, a panel slid open in Sergeant Sirius' back. Melvin snatched the bouquet of zero-grav roses there and rushed after his date, his stiff little legs moving in a blur.

It wasn't long before Lexi found herself sitting at an intimate little table across from Melvin. A flickering techno-candle provided mood lighting while one of the green Martian vulture creatures stood behind them serenading the commander and captive. The pink bunny resisted the temptation to put her hands over her ears. Even the Martian love songs sounded like battle hymns. Sergeant Sirius stood at attention on all fours out of sight behind her, but Lexi knew that the robotic dog was there just the same. Melvin occupied himself with throwing small round fruits that looked like grapes but tasted like a cross between sweet potatoes and papaya, for Lexi to catch in her mouth. Rapidly losing patience with the game, the doe bunny snatched up a handful of the alien ' nutritious morsels' and threw them at the short pipsqueak. The fruits bounced off his Romanesque helmet and rolled on the floor. Not cluing in to Lexi's frustration, Melvin burst out laughing in delight at the play.

A loud ka-chunk sounded and the lights went out. Even the mood candle on the table flickered once then extinguished.

"Oh, my. Something must be wrong with the lights." Melvin reached over blindly to take Lexi's hand and drew her close. The Martian commander found the bunny as soft and fuzzy and cuddly as she looked. "Isn't it romantic?"

It was good the power outage was as short lived as it was. When the lights went out, Ace kept going and he nearly passed the intimate, and very exclusive, Martian bistro.

"Dese Martian ships really do have everything," the yellow toned bunny murmured to himself. That was when Ace saw Lexi and Melvin. Ace got a heading from Rev before starting out, but it still took him longer to locate Lexi than he would have liked. The Loonatic leader tried whispering to get his teammate's attention without alerting the Martian to his presence. Then his enhanced vision caught sight of the pink power dampening cuffs secured around Lexi's wrists. Even if the pink doe bunny could risk Melvin not noticing her glowing pink eyes and the rosy energy circles walking up her ears, Lexi couldn't power up her super hearing any more than she could her brain blasts while wearing those cuffs.

"Caw, caw! . . . Hoot, hoot! . . . Twitter, Twitter! . . ."

Ace tried a variety of whistles and bird calls to get Lexi's attention, but apparently his teammate couldn't hear him above the vulture creature's serenade. In desperation, the yellow and black clad bunny put two fingers in his mouth and blew a loud, shrill whistle.

"Excuse me for a moment," Lexi batted her green eyes at Melvin. "I have to go powder my nose."

"Certainly, Helen," Melvin replied graciously. "Don't be long."

Lexi stiffened at the appellation. She was beginning to really regret ever mentioning Helen of Troy to her teammates in the first place. She practically ran out of the bistro to Ace in the hallway.

"Sorry ta interrupt yer date der, Lexi." Ace grinned at the doe bunny. "But yer taxi's here."

"Can you give me like five minutes?" Lexi smiled sweetly at Ace. "I want to let the little guy down easy. He's really been a perfect gentleman."

Ace stared at Lexi. "You have got ta be kidding!"

"Yes, Ace! I am!" Lexi's demeanor abruptly changed. Boy, Ace was sure slow at times. She grabbed her leader's arm and tugged him down the hall. "Get me out of here!"

Sergeant Sirius snapped suddenly into pointer position, one fore-leg curled up and his nose pointing directly to the hall where he detected a second rabbit. The robot dog growled low in his vocal modulator.

"What is it boy? You find something?" Melvin listened a moment to his Sergeant's excited beeping, then a smile lit the Martian's blue-grey eyes. "Oh, Sirius, everyday it's the same old thing. Pursuit, blast, destroy! Pursuit, blast, destroy! How nice to spend a relaxing afternoon hunting for a change."

Sergeant Sirius didn't look impressed by his master's little speech. Hunting and warfare were pretty much the same thing as far as he could tell. The mechanical dog instantly brightened when Melvin replaced his Romanesque helmet with a tall hunting cap and brought out his particle beam rifle. Still it was better than guarding his master's slave.

"Come on, boy, flush out some game." Melvin followed as the robotic K9 started sniffing around, nose to the ground. The general chuckled. "Oh how I love to surprise unsuspecting creatures. Let the hunt begin!"

Yellow Triangle.

The two bunnies rounded another corner, but even though Ace managed to find Lexi, he was having a hard time retracing his steps to the hanger bay. All of the corridors looked the same on the Martian vessel and he couldn't read the Martian lettering that labeled the areas they passed.

"This won't even be a war . . . just an exercise in pest removal." Melvin, with Sirius snarling quietly at his side, blocked the rabbits' passage.

"Uh, so what's up, doc?" Ace smiled nervously and slowly raised his hands. He remembered Grannicus and Slyth Vester cuffing him to the giant Ace of Heart's card in the prison dimension and the pain that involved. "I just hope he shoots me before he mounts me on the wall."

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A/N Certain of the date and hunt concepts from "Duck Dodgers in the 24th and ½ Century" episodes "Duck Deception" and "K9 Quarry."


	16. Chapter 16

Loonatics Unleashed:

"Silent Conspiracy"

(This story is post Season Two – after the cartoon series.)

Rated T for Intrigue.

Disclaimer: Loonatics Unleashed, Duck Dodgers in the 24th and ½ Century, Looney Tunes, and all related Characters and Elements are trademarks of Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Other references, lyrics and quotes belong to their individual artists, authors, copyrights, or trademarks.

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Orange Triangle.

"Duck, mind giving me a hand here?" Tech was still shoulders deep in the control station in Queen Tyrr'henia's bridge-throne room.

Danger looked up in surprise, then wriggled out of the queen's clutches to join the coyote. The mallard glanced back at the alluring alien. She gave him 'come hither' eyes, and the duck anthromorph nearly returned to her. Danger forced his steps to take him to Tech's side. As Danger pulled away from Tyrr'henia, his head cleared. He tried to convince himself that it must be Tyrr'henia's perfume that held such a hypnotic spell over him. "What is that anyway, 'Love Potion No. 9?'"

Danger wasn't sure about Tech, but he was sure about the queen. He'd take his chances with the haggard coyote.

Tech had Danger hold a lever down while he finished up his 'repair' job. There! now if only he could get down to engineering and reroute the main modulator feed, he could remotely shutdown the propulsion drives of all the fleet. With the armada being almost completely automated it was simple to program in an override. The coyote learned it from the miniature one that the queen let him study.

"Tech, I'm afraid I really must insist," Queen Tyrr'henia began. A loud ka-chunk sounded and the lights suddenly went out.

Okay, scratch that. Tech grinned broadly in the dark. All he had to do now was cut short his 'audience' with the Queen of Mars, grab the duck and go. By the time the lights came on again, the coyote's wily smirk was carefully wiped away.

"Tech E. Coyote." The Martian queen held out her hand, the royal ring prominently displayed. "Swear fealty to me and take your place by my side as scientific advisor."

"Oh, now I fear that won't be possible. I did tell you upon my arrival that this was just a visit." The anthropomorphic scientist bowed and kissed Tyrr'henia's ebony hand. "I am not yet released from my prior commitment."

"What!" Tyrr'henia shouted, indignant that the coyote wouldn't join her. The Martian queen had planned on Tech's manipulation of Wormhole Central; she had counted on his expertise when conquering Blanc. She certainly couldn't do it herself. And General Melvin's strength was in strategy. Once he learned how, her general could operate the technology, but it would take precious time to import her own scientists to study it. Time that the surrounding civilizations would use to rebel against her. She supposed that she would just have to force the needed information from the Royal Tweetums, but even that course was time expensive.

Despite herself, the Martian queen was impressed with Tech's determination. She knew that the spy likely worked for another when Melvin first discovered the genius hacking into their battle computers, yet Tyrr'henia had no idea that the alien coyote's loyalties were so well defined. Too bad they were not oriented on her. Anger set her brow. But she would NOT accept that Tech refused her offer. "Centurions, destroy him!"

"Wait a moment there, Tyrr, you don't mind me calling you 'Tyrr' do you? I don't know what this thing does, but I've pushed a lot of buttons." Catching on to what Tech was up to, Danger Duck struck a noble pose, standing atop the console that he and Tech worked on. The mallard still had no idea who Tech worked for, but it wasn't the Martians. If he was to ever get back to his own charge, the Royal Tweetums of Blanc, his best bet was sticking with his ex-teammate. "No one keeps this bird in a gilded cage!"

The Centurions hesitated at the threat. In the absence of General Melvin, the army-green Romanesque robots awaited their queen's further command. Queen Tyrr'henia, however, seemed enthralled with the anseriform's heroic efforts.

"Time for some special effects!" Danger smashed down on the large green button to set off the machine. Nothing happened. After several repeated attempts, nothing continued to happen and the mallard started to panic. Those Centurions had some impressively large armaments. "Uhh . . . uhh! How does this stupid thing work?!"

"The red button, push the RED button!" Tech hollered. Seeing Danger's confusion and mounting suspicion, the genius offered a quick explanation. "Mars is a red planet, Acmetropolis is a blue-green planet. At home, green means go, here red means go."

"Well, why didn't you say so!" Danger slapped his palm down on the red button, setting off a surprisingly large display of short-circuit pyrotechnics. While the Centurions were disoriented, the mallard quacked over to Tech, then quacked them both out of there. "I always knew I could trust you, Tech."

Orange Triangle.

"Rabbit season." Melvin growled out the order and Sergeant Sirius, pointing as a retriever, extended the laser gun barrel from the tip of his nose. "Shoot them!"

"Martian season." Ace boldly reached over and pushed Sergeant Sirius' muzzle gun to point at Melvin. The robotic dog was lack wit enough that he took the bunny's word for granted. It was Lexi who saved him from being mounted earlier with a roundhouse kick to the Martian's particle rifle. But after a vigorous romp through much of the Death Cruiser, dodging blasts that blew great chunks out of the walls, the two bunnies were once again cornered.

"Rabbit season!" The Martian general shoved his sergeant's gun back to cover the alien rabbits.

"Martian season!" Ace countered. Now they were playing out a variation of the old 'Rabbit season, Duck season' shtick that was so famous in his family line.

"Rabbit season!!" Melvin practically shouted, pushing aside the robot dog's weapon again.

Ace made to push the gun away from him and Lexi, but ended up pulling it back to point at his own chest.

"Rabbit season!!" the yellow toned bunny insisted.

"Martian season!!!" Melvin pulled Sirius' gun to point at him.

"Rabbit season!!!" Ace could not believe that the old comedy shtick still worked. The Loonatic leader tugged the gun muzzled back toward himself.

"MARTIAN SEASON!!!!" Melvin was getting quite fed up with the obstinate bunny. He yanked the gun barrel to point at himself. "This is a direct order, Sergeant Sirius, FIRE!"

Pzzzapp! Instantly obeying his master, Sirius fired. Melvin's hunting hat blackened to match his face.

"Heh. Looks like da old gags are still da best gags." Before Ace could grab Lexi and make a run for it, Danger and Tech quacked in.

"Tell your little playmate goodbye, Lexi. You have to come home now." Danger snagged his teammates.

"Whoa!" Ace felt his teammate latch hold of him and suddenly they were no longer there.

"Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, . . ." Melvin sounded more disappointed than angry as he replaced his Romanesque helmet and headed back up to the Death Cruiser bridge. Then the Martian's brows beaded with fury. ". . . double shame on you! I sooo hate being made a fool of!"

Red Triangle.

"Good,-they're-all-together. That's-a-relief. Now-I-won't-have-to-go-running-all-over-the-battle-station-to-gather-the-team. As-soon-as-we-finish-hot-wiring-this-Martian-buggy,-Slam,-we'll-go-get-them. I'm-glad-you-suggested-taking-the-Martian-flagship-it's-so-much-roomier-than-boosting-a-shuttle-and-it's-likely-better-shielded-as-well,-and-with-the-forcefields-still-down-we-should-be-able-to-escape-the-Death-Cruiser,-but-even-with-the-added-shielding-I'm-not-sure-we'll-survive-a-direct-assault-but-it's-also-the-fastest-ship-in-the-fleet-so-maybe-we-can-just-outrun-them. How-maneuverable-do-you-suppose-this-crate-is?" Rev didn't listen to Slam's reply; he was busy tracking his teammates via his internal GPS.

The Martian invasion force flagship powered up, its engine running smoothly. The roadrunner left the purple hued devil to look after the ship and dashed out into the docking bay again when his internal tracking registered a blip and his teammates appeared. He arrived at the spot even before Danger's orange teleporting energies dissipated. "Great,-you're-just-in-time. We're-all-ready. Get-aboard. Let's-go!"

"Once again, Danger Duck saves the day . . .." But in trying to strike a heroic pose, the orange and black clad mallard toppled from exhaustion. Quacking over half the team with him to the forward docking bay taxed the duck to the limits of his ability. It wouldn't take long for him to recoup his strength, but for now he was wiped out. Ace caught the short avian and Lexi stepped forward to support his other side.

"Good job, Rev. I knew I could count on you." Tech clapped a paw briefly on the roadrunner's shoulder, but immediately snatched it back as if it had been burned. Instead, he tossed a Martian frequency blocking device he'd thrown together to his onetime friend and brother. The inventor quickly explained its instillation and purpose. The gadgeteer needed to install the block so that the propulsion override that Tech initiated in the throne room-bridge wouldn't cripple the Loonatics' escape vehicle along with the rest of the fleet. Tech's gaze slid over Rev as the green coyote mounted his pursuit cycle. He kicked it into gear and sped out of the docking bay. "Keep up . . . if you can."

Fade to black.

"I'm not angry." Melvin forlornly watched the forward monitor screen as the Loonatics departed with not only his Martian Battle Cruiser flagship, but with his gaming partner as well. "Just terribly, terribly hurt."

Monitoring the aliens' escape, Sergeant Sirius snapped to attention, saluting with one mechanical fore paw. Beeping a series of tones, the robot dog extended a ticker-tape tongue that Melvin ripped off and read.

[The coyote's transport has been spotted nearby. Shall we give chase?]

"No, Sergeant Sirius. After my encounter with the lovely space vixen, I'm actually feeling rather benevolent." There was a wistful tone to General Melvin's reply.

The Martian queen recalled her servants, re-dehydrating them into their small, pill-like forms and tucking them into an easily carried bottle for future re-hydration. Going into battle, she couldn't very well have the silly, green vulture-like creatures underfoot. Seeing her general's return to his command platform above her throne, Queen Tyrr'henia joined the commander in time to hear his comment. She was astonished that the general should be so affected by the alien doe bunny. Of course the pink toned anthromorph was one of Danger Duck's companions. It was only logical that the noble fowl surround himself with remarkable beings.

General Melvin gazed into space after his retreating gaming partner . . . for all of 2 seconds. His ebony brow beaded up menacingly. "Okay, it passed. DESTROY THEM!"

The entire armada powered up. But in attempting to engage the enemy, Tech's override kicked in stranding the fleet. "Oh dear, I hate when this happens."

"Tit for Tat, General Melvin." Tech opened communications with the Martian fleet. The scientist didn't really like this particular interaction algorithm. It was too harsh. He would rather forgive . . . at least before he'd been betrayed he would. Now, as when dealing with Mallory, the coyote simply did not have the resources to indulge leniency. He'd have to use the Martians' own energy against them. "Please inform Queen Tyrr'henia, that I strongly urge her to reconsider her conquest agenda. Withdraw your designs from Acmetropolis, Blanc, and Freleng or suffer the fate that you unleash upon your victims."

Melvin found the coyote's greeting fairly odd. Though the little cannonball's laughter joined that of his queen's at the absurd warning, Melvin nonetheless worried that Tech, as brilliant as he was, had come up with something that might truly be a threat. He rapidly brought up the seldom used science station, but all of his scans came up empty. The short cannonball headed Martian could detect no energy source or explosives on the coyote. Even with superpowers, the alien creature simply didn't have the personal reserves to take out any of his fleet, let alone his Galactic Death Cruiser. "My fleet can produce a trillion times the energy of one of your entire planets. And I detect no weapons on you whatsoever."

"That's the beauty of it." Confidence sounded in Tech's voice, but the ex-Loonatic was beginning to worry. It wouldn't take long for the Martian repair crew to find and undo his tampering. If the Martians refused to see him as a threat, but simply flew on past him and continued on to Blanc, the battle for Wormhole Central could send backlashes of destructive force through the wormholes to erupt into violence all over the universe.

"Ooooooh! I expect you have some fiendishly devastating weapon with which to take me out!" The Martian general sounded as excited by the prospect as alarmed by it.

"You would expect so," Tech replied. "But what you see . . . and more importantly, what you GIVE . . . is what you get. Clear off or you shall destroy yourselves."

"You will forgive me my skepticism, my dear Tech." Queen Tyrr'henia leaned over her fleet commander and answered the coyote's challenge personally. "But since you declined the offer of becoming my scientific advisor, I feel absolutely no compulsion to heed your ridiculous advice."

"As you no doubt discovered when you sent me to prison, it is easy to betray heroes. But I am no longer a hero. Let's see how you do against a _villain_," Tech taunted. The universe couldn't afford for the Martains to treat him as a non-threat. He needn't have worried.

Not only did the ungrateful alien cur refuse her offer of serving her, but he had the audacity to mock her efforts as well! Infuriated beyond reason, Tyrr'henia unleashed the power of her armada.

Purple Triangle.

"Gblaa rrhhng kkrrn doing?" Slam asked incredulously. By the time the Loonatics caught up with Tech, the wily coyote was already deep in 'battle negotiations' with the Martians.

"I have no idea, Slam." Lexi stared out the flagship's main view screen. A conflict of emotions fought within her. Could Tech really have gone through all this just to get the Martians to reveal their true motives? 'Crazy like a fox' had nothing over crazy as a coyote!

"Well, I'd say it's rather obvious what ol' Techy is doing. He's taking on the entire Marian invasion fleet." Danger Duck shrugged, affecting unconcern. Having already caught his breath from heroically rescuing his teammates, the anseriform nonetheless plopped into a secondary station chair and kicked his webbed feet up on the console. If the coyote was buying the Loonatics time to reach Blanc ahead of the Martian fleet, then the mallard needed to conserve all his strength for the battle to come. "It's no feathers off our backs if Techy would rather face the Martians than prison again."

"Alone?!" Ace couldn't believe that anybody was that crazy.

"Not-alone." An unaccustomed sternness set Rev's features. Without waiting for Ace, the red tinted roadrunner dashed to the navigation controls and threw the Martian Battle Cruiser into gear. "Not-alone,-NEVER-again!"

Okay, maybe there WERE those in the universe who were crazy enough to take on the Martian armada singlehanded. Ace grinned as he took over the flight controls from Rev and flew an intercept course. And apparently, he was one of them.

Yellow Triangle.

"Well, you certainly got their attention." Tech muttered to himself as the entire Martain armada opened fire, no holds, against the lone pursuit cycle. Every warship fired at a fixed location some distance in front of the coyote. The individual beams there combined into one devastating blast that streaked towards its target. Despite his previous calculations, the genius went over the setup again as he prepared to receive the Martian blast. He'd taken down the Martians' shields and immobilized the armada. Rev took their primary energy core off line so that they were running on auxiliary power. It just might be enough. He hoped.

As he had against Optimatus, once again Tech extended his arms and splayed his half-gloved hands. But this time when he made himself into a living component of his Tech E. Coyote Recursive Power Blaster 2000, the spikes from his collar and belt interlocked at the atomic lattice level with the chain links from the leashes. The fractal pattern spiraled out in front of the coyote, locking solidly into an elaborate, spiral cone. The small bits of metal interacted with Tech's own electromagnetic powers, forming myriad core magnetism points for collecting and redirecting the devastating disintegrator rays coming from Martin's fleet. Tech just hoped that his inter-cosmic spacesuit was sufficient to protect him from the maelstrom of energies.

Tech gathered in the white-hot shot and channeled it back to the Martian fleet in a prismatic Aurora Borealis of deadly energies. A smaller, steady stream of the collected energies rerouted to form a retro-thruster behind the coyote effectively anchoring him against the push of the attack. Light glinted off the shiny metal spikes while lines reflected from the lurid, incandescent clouds of stellar dust as the Marians' own attack was redirected against them. The prismatic beam cut across the surface of the planetoid-sized Galactic Death Cruiser, disintegrating great sections of the Martian battle platform. But despite great sections of metal boiling away into space, the Death Cruiser was simply too massive even for the combined energies of the Martian armada to significantly damage.

"Eh, what's up, doc?" Ace left the relative safety of the flagship after he pulled it up behind and to one side of the coyote. Lexi and Danger quacked out to join him. All three Loonatics were protected by their enviro-suits. As neither Slam's nor Rev's powers were particularly effective in the void of space, the Loonatic leader left them in the ship to cover them with the Martian Battle Cruiser's battery of armaments. "Just thought we'd come help ta cleanup."

"We need more power. Ace, channel your laser vision through your Guardian Strike Sword!" Tech instructed. If Optimatus could do it, then so could the bunny.

"But I can't do dat!" Ace nonetheless extended his sword's blade. "Can I?"

"Just pretend your sword is a laser enhancer, like the laser defense guns at headquarters." Tech knew Ace could channel his laser vision. The bunny had on several occasions while defending their base, protecting the Royal Tweetums when escorting him to his home planet, not to mention the time they'd had to disintegrate the second, larger meteor that Optimatus had hurled at Acmetropolis when he was still against Zadavia.

Ace concentrated, his eyes glowing yellow. The laser beam shot through his Guardian Strike Sword, amplified many fold and shot out to gouge a deep furrow in the attacking Death Cruiser.

Better, but still not best. The other Loonatics didn't have the range to fight the Martian armada directly, but his Recursive Power Blaster did. "Lexi, Duck, hit me with everything you've got! We need to increase our firepower!"

"But you can't channel that much power, no one can!" Lexi yelled.

"What I CANNOT do is let these bowling ball headed invaders destroy my friends! This stops NOW!"

Tech grunted with the strain as both Lexi's brain-blasts and Danger's power eggs added to the maelstrom of energies the scientist was already processing. Better, much better, but it would take too long to burn through the layers of the Galactic Death Cruiser at this rate. The coyote could already feel his strength failing. Perhaps there was a better way. Tech shifted his target to the swarms of Martian warships surrounding the Death Cruiser. The small, one pilot crafts burned away before the combined power of the Loonatics and the Martians themselves.

When half of the fleet vaporized, Tech again opened communications with the Martians. He gave them one last warning. They still had a choice, but soon it would be too late. "Disengage now or, how did you put it when I first came aboard? You SHALL be annihilated!"

"NO!" Aboard the Martian Galactic Death Cruiser, Queen Tyrr'henia clenched her delicate fists tight. The dashing Danger Duck had her Gordovian power crystal so she couldn't give it to General Melvin to power the assault. "General Melvin, you are the military strategist here. What can we do in this situation?"

Melvin glanced over at his sergeant, but Sirius only confirmed what his master already knew. Luckily, the mechanical dog was an upgraded model and had his own motivational circuits. He was not rendered inoperative by the aliens' sabotage as were the Centurion robots and fleet.

"The Death Cruiser's core is giving off dangerously erratic energy readings, my queen. Our most viable options are limited to two. We either go to full power and hope to destroy the aliens before they destroy us, or we concede to the coyote and withdraw. If we choose the latter, we lose the element of surprise for attacking Blanc, not to mention that the premier planets will be on the guard against future attempts. If we choose the former, we might take out the genius' weapon, or we might rupture our own core. The core explosion would not only wipe out the entire armada, but this battle station and possibly us as well. Having encountered neither the alien weapon nor these core readings before, I am unable to predict which outcome is the more likely."

"Then go to full power!" With as different as they were in their outward appearance, Queen Tyrr'henia and General Melvin were basically the same. Though the Martians preferred to win, the battle lust came in the uncertainty of victory or defeat. Besides, she trusted her general to keep her safe.

"I am stubborn," Tech gritted out between clenched teeth as the firepower from the Death Cruiser suddenly increased. "The Martians are just too stupid to know when to quit!"

Even though Tech had upgraded his entire outfit as part of his Recursive Power Blaster when at the Loonatics' tree house headquarters on Blanc, it started to disintegrate. Only the airless void of space and his inter-cosmic spacesuit prevented him from combusting with the vast Martian energies that threatened to crisp him to an ash. His war-cry howl was a mix of triumph and pain. The howl reverberated through the fleet, following through with the energies as they built and quite literally tore the Martian fleet apart.

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A/N: There are several references in this chapter that were just too awkward to acknowledge in the main body of the story. "Love Potion No. 9" was a 1959 song by the Clovers. "The Gilded Cage" was a painting by Evelyn De Morgan (1919) and was an allegory for captivity. "I don't know what this thing does, but I've pushed a lot of buttons." was also from the Duck Dodgers cartoons (as well as continued references to "Duck Deception"). Also slight allusions to some of Douglas Adams' works, "Labyrinth" (the movie), "Zorro" (the old movie), and even an old "Roy Rogers" cowboy show. If there are any I missed, I apologize. They should be covered under the disclaimer. I used wikipedia and YouTube for finding many of the references.

Another A/N: After responding to a review question on the speed of my posts, I thought maybe others might be curious as well. I complete the rough draft of any story I submit prior to actual posting. (No, I am not Wonder Writer.) So rest assured, baring catastrophe, any story that I start to post, I will also finish posting. I still do A LOT of refining and error correcting even up to the moment of actual posting. (I often am still making last minute tweaks even in the document manager.) I also have two proofreaders (neither of whom actually watch Loonatics Unleashed. If they can figure out who is doing what, then I know that I've written a part clear enough). I started the actual writing of the rough draft for "Silent Conspiracy" in September 2008, if I remember right; though I started idea and note gather for it clear back in the previous spring . . . shortly after I discovered the fanfic site. I had around 25 pages just of notes. BTW, just as a matter of _dis_-interest other titles I considered for this story were: "Confidentiality," "Hostile Takeover," and "06" (for Tech's prisoner number). I ended up choosing "Silent Conspiracy" because Wile E. Coyote, Tech's forbearer, was a 'silent toon' in most of his cartoons.


	17. Chapter 17

Loonatics Unleashed:

"Silent Conspiracy"

(This story is post Season Two – after the cartoon series.)

Rated T for Intrigue.

Disclaimer: Loonatics Unleashed, Duck Dodgers in the 24th and ½ Century, Looney Tunes, and all related Characters and Elements are trademarks of Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Other references, lyrics and quotes belong to their individual artists, authors, copyrights, or trademarks.

.

[Computer Alert: At current energy output, ship core will breach in T minus 30 seconds.]

With the Martian Galactic Death Cruiser core going into critical meltdown, Tyrr'henia finally realized that she'd lost. Admiration of her conqueror softened her defeat. "Oh, Danger Duck, that we could have fought as allies instead of as enemies. You have taken not only my scientific advisor from me, but victory itself. Your sabotage has been the undoing of my plans, and your heroic nature has been the undoing of my heart."

"Well, you know there's a lot more to us ducks than rugged good looks!" Danger said over the communication lines. The orange hued mallard ignored Rev's rapid, indignant comments about Danger's glory hogging. The roadrunner was just jealous. Besides, the speed demon was on the flagship; what could he do anyway?

Melvin snorted knowing that the pyrotechnics at the subsidiary station wasn't the cause of the core breach. If any of the Loonatics were responsible for the core's instability, it was that cursed yellow rabbit who stole away his gaming partner! Again!!

"Cease your attack! We concede and will withdraw our designs on this corner of the cosmos." Queen Tyrr'henia called for truce . . . at least until the Martians could recoup their loss. Tyrr'henia ran a hand over her wide Egyptian headband, feeling the empty setting for her crown jewel. She didn't begrudge the handsome Danger Duck having the Gordovian power crystal. To the victor went the spoils of war, after all. Besides, Mars still controlled the Greater Gordovian Principalities; she could get another one. Come to think of it, it was likely that Danger was actually Tech's boss in the first place. That would explain why the duck allowed himself to be caught so easily . . . so he could keep an eye on his scientist.

The Loonatics stopped their attack when the Martians called for a ceasefire. Tech, however, continued his barrage.

"It's too late for that!" Tech yelled through the haze of pain racking him. The coyote had no storage capacity for the energy, only redirection. And the Martian fleet was the only target available. He couldn't redirect it anywhere else without potentially harming innocents. The inventor couldn't just let it shoot out into space, there was no telling into what or who it would eventually impact. "I can only give back what the Martians themselves have shot out. It is none of my doing, but their own!"

"Now that is what I call a weapon!" Melvin commented enviously.

The queen had to agree. Tech would have made so much more than just a scientific advisor. Perhaps later she could negotiate with Danger Duck for the coyote's services.

[Computer Alert: Confirmed ship core breach in T minus 20 seconds . . . 19 seconds . . . 18 seconds . . ..]

"Oh dear. I REALLY hate when THIS happens." Melvin looked sadly at his self-destructing ship. That was two Galactic Death Cruisers that the Loonatics took out, plus his entire automated armada. The short general was proud to have such worthy adversaries. Of course, they now had him as their mortal enemy, but they were worthy nonetheless. He looked forward to the time when he could rebuild his fleet and meet the Loonatics again in battle. Grabbing his queen and whistling for Sergeant Sirius, Melvin ran for the docking bay. He understood strategy and knew the value of a strategic withdrawal. "Come quickly, we must abandon ship before it explodes!"

"Don't think of it as a defeat," Lexi called over the com-lines. The pink and black clad bunny grinned, remembering Melvin's discourse on how the Martians took on the dress style and pop culture of those who defeated them. "Think of it as a fashion save from having to wear the eggshell design of planet Blanc. Tweetums is one crafty bird. If we hadn't stopped you here, he would have beaten the tutu off you! . . . You can thank us later."

"Goodbye, Helen, we shall meet again." Melvin called a farewell over the communication lines as he drove his space chariot drawn by Sergeant Sirius.

"Don't count on it," Lexi growled. "And my name is LEXI!"

"So, ya t'ink we should go round us up a couple of Martians?" Ace and the others headed back to the flagship. The much faster Battle Cruiser would have no trouble overtaking Melvin and Queen Tyrr'henia.

The pent up energies within the Recursive Power Blaster finally bled out and the coyote that made up its core component slumped. Tech shook his head fighting for consciousness, but said nothing. He stopped the Martians from taking over the universe. That was enough. His teammates . . . no, not his teammates anymore . . . the Loonatics could pursue and take them into custody if they chose, but the coyote couldn't condemn anyone to the fate that he'd suffered in prison. Not even the ones who sent him there.

Unable to wait for Tech to enter the flagship on his own, Rev fired up his super speed. He dashed out to his little brother's side.

"I-know-I've-said-this-before-but, . . . Good-job,-Tech-man! You-are-so-smart. I-wish-I-was-half-so-smart-as-you. I-really-look-up-to-you. I-really-do. Except-seriously-of-course-I-wouldn't-want-to-spend-all-my-free-time-in-a-lab-by-myself-that-would-be-really-sad. But-Kudos-on-a-job-well-done!" Somewhat surprised that the coyote didn't pinch his beak closed, Rev peered at his best friend. Even through the bluish tint of his inter-cosmic spacesuit, the coyote's emerald glow appeared to spark sporadically. Tech grew more haggard looking even as Rev watched. It was as if the genius' molecular regeneration struggled to restore even his most vital life functions.

Tech's faltering emerald glow extinguished and he collapsed. Rev caught him.

"Tech! You-stupid-coyote! Don't-you-dare-die-on-me-now!" Completely opposite to what he was saying about how smart that he thought Tech was, Rev now chided his friend for overtaxing himself. The roadrunner carried the coyote into the flagship and up to the bridge. "Ace?-Tech's-in-a-bad-way."

Ace nodded in acknowledgment, aborting their chase of the Martians. The alien invaders could wait; Tech could not. Ace turned the flagship home toward Blanc.

"Where's the kaboom? There ought to have been a world-shattering kaboom." Melvin's voice, crackling with subspace interference, sounded over the still open com-lines.

"What?!" Queen Tyrr'henia sounded annoyed. "You mean to tell me we made an unnecessary evacuation?!"

KABOOM!!!

"Oh, there it is."

The Martians screamed as the shock wave from the exploding Death Cruiser flung their escape chariot into deeper space. Moments later, that same shock wave struck the Loonatics' escape vehicle as well. Though flung in an entirely different direction, their own screams added to those of their adversaries.

The concussive blast of the Martian Galactic Death Cruiser as it exploded whammed into the flagship that the Loonatics boosted, sending it spinning out of control. The Loonatics found themselves clinging desperately to consoles and chairs or flattened against the walls of the ship as centrifugal force completely overpowered the artificial gravity. Though they had no wormhole back to Blanc, the speed and twist of the craft was enough to drill through the ether. They arrived in the environs of Blanc in record time. Frictionless space didn't slow them down; they were coming in hot and fast.

Having finally belted himself in at the navigation station, Ace worked on steering them into controlled impacts with asteroids and the gravity pulls of passing planets to slow them down. Luckily the flagship was specially reinforced for royalty and so withstood the abuse. Nearing their destination and having run out of other planets, the Loonatics made a more or less controlled crash into one of Blanc's moons to bleed off enough speed to stop.

"Ohh." Lexi clutched her stomach waiting for it to stop churning. "That is the last time I travel by corkscrew!"

Pink Triangle.

"You know? he looks kind of cute and fuzzy there . . . even in his chains and leathers." Lexi's voice was soft with concern and a touch of kindness. "Seeing him like this, you'd never know that he masterminded this whole thing just to eliminate the Martian threat. But why didn't he tell us?"

Catching scents and hushed voices, he heard Danger's snide reply, but Tech paid it no mind. Having just recovered consciousness, the coyote tried to make sense of his surroundings. The quiet swish of a door, the soft pad of footfalls, Ace's by the sounds of them, and the scents that were at once familiar and yet oddly alien . . . the Loonatics had taken him to their Blanc headquarters. And the surface upon which he lay yielded comfortably under him. Unless he missed his guess, he was in the main living area. The outlawed genius lay where he was, listening to his ex-teammates. He hadn't masterminded anything. He only played the hand that was dealt him.

The Loonatics fell silent and the coyote could only guess that Lexi had heard his heart rate increase and signaled them that he was awake. Tech sighed. He opened his eyes to see the last of Lexi's pink energy rings walk up her ears. Yes, she had been monitoring him. Well, that explained why he wasn't in security lock up. In his present condition he wasn't much of a threat, and apparently nobody wanted to be alone with him even on guard duty.

Lexi came over as the scientist struggled to sit up on the couch. "How are you feeling, Tech?"

Tech closed his eyes again to withdraw since he couldn't leave physically. He still didn't want to talk. The coyote flinched away from the pink hued bunny when she placed a gentle paw on his shoulder. He didn't want his ex-friends' kindness . . . because he couldn't bear them to take it away again. Then he sighed again and relented. He was only hurting himself after all. "Hungry."

Danger quacked in behind Tech and Lexi with his emergency stash of extra-high energy granola and ab-inducer chocolate bars. Startled, Tech spun around with the trained reflexes pounded into him in prison, his hands glowing green. The mallard found himself entangled in one of the coyote's chains and smashed into his own holographic mirror. It perfectly caught and reflected the duck's awkward position.

"Sorry, sorry!" Tech lunged to his feet, but stumbled before he could reach the avian.

"No problem." Danger said in a pressed voice. He and his three-dimensional image slid limply to the floor. Then the orange and black clad mallard sprang to his feet and helped Tech back to the couch. He dumped his now battered stash of health food on the coyote. "You might as well have it. I don't want crumbled snacks."

Tech ripped off the wrapper with slightly trembling hands and bit into an energy bar, trying to force himself to chew before swallowing and taking another bite. It seemed as if the coyote was perpetually hungry. Unaccustomed to the sudden bulk, his stomach rebelled. He barely made it to the bathroom.

Hearing her teammate, Lexi followed. She held Tech's head while his stomach emptied out, stroking his cheek. She noticed a faint green tint to the edges of the coyote's fur, and even though he was powered down, his pupils still smoldered emerald in his olive green eyes. Shaking violently, Tech again went down. She couldn't catch him, but at least the doe bunny guided the coyote to the floor so that he wouldn't injure himself on the way down. "Slam! I need you."

Upon entering, Slam grunted. The ex-wrestler knew the symptoms. The genius had way overexerted himself and made himself sick. He'd seen it often enough among rookies during training for the wrestling arena. The purple tinted Tasmanian Devil hoisted up Tech, and despite the inventor's protests that he could walk, Slam easily carried the wiry coyote back to the living room and settled him back onto the couch. Holding his wayward friend like the returned prodigal that he was, the devil fed him small chunks of ab-inducer bar until Tech's trembling body recouped enough to accept the nourishment. If the coyote insisted on wolfing down his food, then the devil would just have to ration it for him.

A blur of red streaked through as Rev returned from checking over the base. With the upheavals of late, it was a practice that the roadrunner had instigated. The speedster triple-checked base security as soon as the Loonatics arrived back at their tree house headquarters. It nearly killed him to leave Tech even though Lexi promised to look after him. Seeing his friend-brother awake and eating, Rev detoured to the kitchen, and in record time, made one of his famous super booster pick-me-up shakes and brought it over.

Slam grabbed the roadrunner's drink, chugging half of it before feeding the rest of it to Tech in little sips. The purple hued devil ignored his speedy teammates' outcry. Slam knew if Tech ate and drank too much too fast, he would only make himself sick again. The burly Loonatic popped a few pieces of ab-inducer bar into his own mouth while helping his fellow predator to small bits of Danger's chocolate and sips of Rev's pick-me-up drink. The sour of the juice and the sweet of the chocolate didn't exactly go well together, but they did seem to be helping. The coyote actually looked better . . . as if his molecular regeneration was already working with the chocolate.

Deciding that the devil knew what he was doing after all, Rev perched on the couch at Tech's side. A bit chagrined, the speedster smiled at the inventor. "While-checking-out-the-base,-I-discovered-that-someone,-presumably-you,-my-genius-'little-brother,'-had-disabled-all-the-'anti-Tech'-security-measures-that-I-tried-to-put-in-place. I-guess-I-just-didn't-get-it-right. Now-don't-get-me-wrong;-I'm-glad-that-things-turned-out-well. Still-it's-sort-of-disappointing-that-my-work-isn't-very-good. There's-just-no-replacing-you,-Tech,-and-I-never-want-to-have-to-try-to-again!"

"Don't be so hard on yourself," Tech smirked at the roadrunner. The only reason Rev's security measures didn't work was because the bird didn't know about the security dead spots that he and Danger Duck had discovered. "Your security measures would have been completely devastating except for one or two teeny weeny little problems."

Seeing Tech nearly done with Danger's health food, Slam went to the kitchen to see what else he could scrounge up to feed to the coyote. Danger moved to take the devil's place. Approaching the volatile coyote more carefully this time, the mallard laughed when he realized how the genius infiltrated the base. "Tech must have entered through the surveillance dead spots that I use for merchandise storage. Our genius never had the chance to plug them before his arrest."

Tech's smirk widened at remembering his infiltration into the headquarters after his prison break. Rev had activated security against him in case of his escape and subsequent return. The wily coyote worked his way from one surveillance dead spot to another until he reached the control center and reinstated himself into the security system. He determined NEVER to make anything so secure again that he couldn't get in or out of it. Relying on error and bugs in the system wasn't good enough! He would always make himself a secret 'back door' in any security system from now on.

Upon finally gaining access to his lab, Tech had found a big mess. The zoomatrixes were mostly trashed and much of the rest of the heroes' equipment was in ill repair. The coyote snorted. The place just fell apart without him. It was too bad about his damaged palmtop computer though. It looked like it had been dropped on its corner and broken.

"Well, it's as I've always tried to tell you, Rev. When working in the lab, if you'd concentrate more on the Labor part of LABORatory instead instead of the Oratory part of labORATORY, you'd have gotten your 'Tech trap' done." LUCKILY, Tech never got Rev to concentrate. "It's good to see that you haven't changed. Or all of us would be in big trouble right about now."

Tech's grin vanished. _He_ was still in big trouble. Angry that he'd allowed himself to be drawn into the old camaraderie, the coyote withdrew into himself. Forcedly learned during his recent incarceration, Tech held little faith in bureaucracies. And such a play at friendship would only make it worse when they took him back.

Though the others seemed glad that Tech was starting to joke around again, Ace detected an odd flicker in the coyote's eyes. Something was still amiss, as if it wasn't all just water under the bridge. At times, the yellow bunny regretted developing his enhanced vision. The Loonataic leader had felt conflicted around Tech since this whole 'traitor' thing began. Ace studied the scientist's face. He should have trusted his own instincts rather than the 'proof' of others . . . even if those 'others' were Zadavia and Tweetums.

Discovering Ace's scrutiny, Tech stared his ex-leader in the eyes. The very real possibility of being returned to the penitentiary twisted his stomach, making him feel even sicker. A heavy feeling settled in his chest. The green coyote dropped the remainder of the chocolate bar then dropped his head into his hands. He didn't have the energy to fight anymore.

Catching the silent interplay between her leader and her recently returned teammate, Lexi hesitantly approached. "Ace? Will Tech have to go back to prison?"

"No! I'll-take-full-responsibility,-full-and-complete-charge-of-him,-his-rehabilitation,-everything." No one had seen Rev quite so riled before. "I'll-stay-in-the-prison-dimension-with-him! I'll-. . .."

"Yeah right. Freleng's dimensional prison is about a secure as a public library. And about as interesting as one too. Everybody just seems to walk in and out as they wish." Danger cut in snidely.

"Then-I'll-tie-us-together. I'll-GRAFT-us-together-if-I-have-to, but-he's-not-going-back-to-prison! I-should-never-have-left-him-there-in-the-first-place." Rev was angry, but not at his teammate. Fear that he might lose Tech again sharpened his answer.

"Kkrrnrrhhngrrhhnggblch, me too!" Slam returned from the kitchen carrying a tray. Though the devil feared that whether Tech got to stay or had to go might not really be the Loonatics' decision at all.


	18. Chapter 18

Loonatics Unleashed:

"Silent Conspiracy"

(This story is post Season Two – after the cartoon series.)

Rated T for Intrigue.

Disclaimer: Loonatics Unleashed, Duck Dodgers in the 24th and ½ Century, Looney Tunes, and all related Characters and Elements are trademarks of Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Other references, lyrics and quotes belong to their individual artists, authors, copyrights, or trademarks.

.

Not liking where the current conversation was going, everyone was relieved for a change when the hideous laugh of Danger Duck's cellphone ringer went off. For once glad that much of the base was in poor repair and that the regular communication lines were experiencing intermittent problems, Danger stepped aside to answer it. "Tech, Zadavia's on the line. She wants to see you."

Tech shook his head, a fierce expression crossing his face. "No. I was refused my day in court, I'll not go now into any. Not even hers."

"Tech? Who're ya working for?" Ace's worry mounted as Tech turned silently away. Afraid that the planet leaders would insist that they return Tech to prison, the Loonatic leader searched his mind for a way to reach the coyote. He desperately tried to find something . . . anything . . . to defend Tech. Being as kind as he possibly could, Ace gently asked again. "Come on, Tech, yas got ta give us something! After all that's happened, what could possibly be left ta protect?"

Why was he still loyal? Tech's gaze slid over his onetime teammates . . . his onetime friends . . . before locking onto the ice blue of his ex-leader's eyes. "My integrity, perhaps? I promised my silence. If stopping the Martian threat is not proof enough, then I have nothing more to offer. Know only that I never worked against you. I never put the planets or their leaders in jeopardy."

"Integrity? Techy let himself get imprisoned then blasted to atoms by Martians just to prove a point?" Danger stared incredulously at the scientist. "Talk about your dumb coyotes!"

"Yeah?-well-at-least-he's-loyal!" Rev leaped to his friend's defense, but Lexi clamped both Danger's bill and the roadster's beak closed with her fingers, cutting short the two avians' argument before it could escalate. She pointed sharply, sending the fowls to opposite corners of the room.

Mistaking the pity in Ace's eyes for lingering doubt, Tech abruptly stood to go to his room. "I'd appreciate a shower first, then return me if you must."

"Tech, . . ." Ace began.

"What! I can't even take a shower? Is that too much to ask!" Lashing out as any injured animal might, Tech's growling made it difficult to understand his words. "It's not like I asked for even a five minute head start or anything."

Tech glared around at his ex-friends. Intentionally or not, they surrounded him. Even if he was at full strength he couldn't fight his way through all of them. They would take him down before he got two feet. Clenching his fists, Tech held his wrists out for Ace to cuff him. The coyote tried to swallow his growl. "Fine. I surrender."

The others watched in devastation. And Lexi's eyes weren't the only ones to well up in tears. But none of them knew what they could do or say that wouldn't make matters worse.

"Practically singlehanded, you stopped da Martians from invading, Tech. An' you freed us from da prison dimension. We owe you, all of us . . . Blanc, Freleng, Acmetropolis . . . da universe." Ace spoke softly. He pushed Tech's wrists down. No way was he cuffing the coyote. "But if dere is still a threat out dere, we need to know about it. Please, Tech. Tell us. Who's yer boss?"

"No, Ace. Tech only ever had the one." Zadavia stepped through the door into the Loonatics' living room. The Freleng princess wore her usual violet outfit with the inverted triangle; her maroon travel cape and hood shrouded her features. It had taken hours for her and the other planetary leaders to reach Blanc. By that time, the Loonatics had already dealt with the Martian threat.

The Royal Tweetums, the Mayor of Acmetropolis, as well as her own brother, Optimatus, wanted to accompany her to the Loonatics' tree house headquarters, but Zadavia would not be overruled in this matter. She felt it better if she came alone. As was her wont, the tall, blond humanoid had been monitoring her Loonatics' conversation before she entered.

The princess was amazed that even now, after all that Tech had been through, he was keeping his promise of confidentiality to her. The coyote was trustworthy and loyal to his ideals. Much as she had set her handmaid to become the Mayor of Acmetropolis as a failsafe at the first hints of Optimatus' revolt in past years, Zadavia had set up Tech to be her emergency fallback in case of Martian invasion. And though, thanks to the Loonatics' efforts, the Mayor's appointment was safe; Tech should not have to bear the brunt of her secret any longer.

Zadavia put her hands on Tech's shoulders, wanting to take him in her arms and hug him, but she felt the stiffness in his stance. She fought the urge to back away from the wounded predator. Then overcoming the natural tendency, the princess pulled the coyote into an embrace anyway. Despite the snarl that escaped him, she held him tight enough that unless he actively fought her, he couldn't pull free. Whispering words of remorse and apology, Zadavia didn't relinquish her hold until Tech's growling ceased and his tense stance relaxed somewhat. "I'm sorry Tech. I'm so sorry."

"Wait a minute. YOU'RE Tech's boss?"

"Why?" Struggling to control his voice, Tech didn't elaborate, but Zadavia knew that he was asking why she set him to the task of gathering information on the Martians' plans of conquest, then subsequently signed his arrest warrant. Recalling Queen Tyrr'henia's rehearsed regret when confronted with his captivity, the coyote couldn't help but wonder if it was a royalty thing. But he could feel the Frelengian princess trembling as she held him . . . and her remorse felt real.

"Oh, Tech, my dear, dear friend." Sorrow shone in Zadavia's leaf-green eyes. She'd seen the uncut security footage of the abusive guards that Optimatus brought back from Prison Station Alpha. What could she say? That it was necessary? That she'd been afraid? Both were true. She couldn't take the first step and attack the Martians in a preemptive strike; that course was too prone to error. It destroyed peace and made her the warmonger. And at the time there was no proof, only vague hints. Yet neither could she just sit idly by and let a potential threat imperil countless, innocent worlds. "I never dreamed it would go so far. But I needed an 'ace in the hole.'"

A sardonic smirk twitched the corner of Tech's mouth. "Shouldn't you have gotten Ace for that?"

Danger agreed. If Ace had been sent to prison, then the mallard could have taken charge. A ripple of laughter beset the Loonatics, the first heard in the tree house for some time. The barest hint of a smile ticked the corner of Tech's mouth, but he didn't join in. For him, the wound was still too fresh.

"Believe it or not, when you didn't escape when Mastermind did, I actually worried that you had built the prison cells too well," Zadavia confided to the coyote. Toward the end, the princess had worked hard to get Tech transferred into her care, but the genius had escaped before he could be brought to Freleng. "I should have known you were better than that."

Glad that the team was back together, Slam snagged everyone, including Zadavia, up in a group hug. The devil always knew that Tech wasn't a traitor.

"Ya know, Zadavia, genius only goes so far. We all could 'a been a much bigger help if ya'd have trusted us with what was really going on." It wasn't reasonable, but Ace was secretly disappointed that Zadavia _hadn't_ used him as her secret contingency plan . . . her 'Ace in the hole.' The yellow hued bunny sincerely wished that he could have spared Tech what he had to go through. "It's da rare secret dat ain't bad. An' da whole 'need to know' basis only screws everything up. Sure it might 'a been in da name of security, but it doesn't work when ya keep it from those who keep ya safe."

Zadavia silently shook her head. At the time, she felt it would be irresponsible to concern the heroes of the universe with what might have been nothing more than paranoid fantasies. Indeed, until Tech got the Martian queen talking about her conquest plans, there had been no solid evidence that the Martians were anything but forthright. Sidestepping the issue, Zadavia disentangled herself from the anthropomorphic heroes.

"On a happier note, . . . the Mayor of Acmetropolis, the Royal Tweetums, Optimatus, and myself wish to grant you amnesty as a gesture of political rehabilitation." Zadavia produced an official canister containing the scrolled document that would free Tech from the penitentiary.

"What of the evidence of betrayal that got me jailed in the first place?" He'd been so careful to cover his tracks; it still bothered Tech that he wasn't careful enough. Perhaps he could discover his error.

"There was none. All that any of the planetary leaders knew was that there was a movement. You were the only viable link. Genius does have its drawbacks, I'm afraid." Zadavia smiled at Tech, but the coyote was still distant.

"So I was convicted on demand of the planetary leaders? To appease a spirit of paranoia that led otherwise sane people to feel threatened, both personally and to their rule." Tech remembered his words to Tweetums earlier. He found that he did not regret them.

"Please, Tech, take it." Zadavia extended the scrolled document again. "It's a full and free pardon."

"I don't need amnesty!" Tech barely refrained from slapping the flexible, paper-thin computer screen from the princess' hand. His voice turned cold. "I wasn't guilty in the first place! I've done nothing that needs the governments' forgiveness."

Zadavia sighed. "Poor choice of words. Acquitted then." Then she smiled. Tech was right. It wasn't right to sweep the whole business of falsely accusing him under the carpet. Tech was a hero and had acted as such throughout. And she would see that it was likewise publicized.

Danger smirked. "Well, what do you know? What I told Black Velvet about Tech being undercover turned out to be true after all."

"Tweetums told us of your visit with him." Zadavia paused, trying to gage the coyote that she feared was no longer her friend. "You were . . . harsh."

"Hey, just what went on between you two anyway?" Danger looked sharply at the coyote. As Tweetums' knight and protector it was Danger Duck's responsibility to be concerned. He wondered just what went on between the coyote and the canary. The mallard trusted Tech . . . but sometimes he trusted the genius to act like a coyote. "Mustard beak IS okay, isn't he?"

"I'm altruistic, but that doesn't mean I don't get angry." Tech nodded to Danger but answered Zadavia.

"Furious, the way I heard it." Zadavia supposed that the betrayal made it worse. Tears shimmered in the corners of the princess' leaf-green eyes. She knew what the genius had gone through in prison. Just thinking about it made her shudder. Even Tweetums who was understandably upset at the coyote's visit was aghast when he saw the security footage, saying that Tech had grossly understated the situation there at the penitentiary.

Zadavia, herself, had been betrayed by her brother. If she had been captured and as maltreated as the coyote, would she have bothered coming to everyone's rescue? She'd like to think so, but in her betrayal at least she had the loyalty and love of the Loonatics to sustain her. Tech was essentially abandoned by all. "Furious at all of us."

Tech's olive green eyes sought out Rev, but the roadrunner was turned away from the confrontation. He murmured too quietly for any but the sharpest ears to hear. "Not all."

"Tweetums also reported that you opened and used wormhole central without the royal scepter or gem." Zadavia wished to pull the disenfranchised coyote into another hug, but this time his resentment really did stop her. Tech inclined his head to her slightly in confirmation. "What are you going to do with your discovery?"

"Those who have the means of correcting a flawed system, also have the responsibility to do so," Tech, unnaturally calm, said. "My research is already posted."

Zadavia closed her eyes, wincing a little at the genius' statement. The scientist wasn't making this easy.

A series of 1500 year wars over Blanc had documented the truth of Tech's claim. The system was flawed, but would paving the interstellar roads to all be any better? Still what was done was done. Knowledge learned could not be unlearned. And knowing Tech, it could not now even be contained. Zadavia wondered if in the primeval dawn that the discovery of fire was seen in the same way. A raw, powerful force that should only bring warmth, light, and power to the tribe chief. Then she smiled and pulled Tech into another hug anyway. With wormhole technology as common as hopping on your zoommatrix and zipping to town, they'd have no choice but to learn and adapt. "Well, it looks like we all have some growing up to do."

Fade to Black.

Several hours later, after Zadavia reluctantly left to see to matters of state, Tech finally got his shower. After a good meal and a hot shower, Tech felt almost normal again . . . whatever normal entailed these days. The Martian invasion fleet was destroyed and he was acquitted. Everything was right with the universe, . . . but if that was the case, then why did he step out of his room feeling like a stranger in the place that used to be home? Tech no longer worried about being returned to the penitentiary. But he did wonder about his place with the team. Did he truly belong with the Loonatics and on Blanc at all? Did he even want to stay?

"Hey guys! I hear Tech coming." Pink energy rings disappearing from her ears, Lexi hopped up from the beanbag chair where she sat even before the door swished open and the coyote entered the living room. Everyone looked up from where they were seated here and there about the room. Lexi's bright green eyes dimmed. Even though they'd left Tech's Loonatic uniform out for him, he was dressed very similarly to how he'd been before . . . right down to the spiked collar and chains. She forced her smile to remain in place. "We were waiting for you, Tech."

The coyote's hackles raised. He wished the doe bunny wouldn't monitor him with her super hearing! Didn't she trust him? He'd had enough of being under constant surveillance in prison. Then Tech forced himself to relax. Lexi was not spying on him . . . she was just concerned about him. Though intellectually the genius knew this; emotionally, it still felt the same.

Lexi wasn't the only one to notice Tech's attire. Rev dashed off to get the uniform. The rest of the Loonatics gathered around while the speedster presented it to the coyote. "You're-looking-much-better. Are-you-feeling-better? I-hope-so-because-you-really-didn't-look-like-you-felt-at-all-well-and-you-looked-downright-haggard,-but-not-anymore. Did-your-molecular-regeneration-finally-catch-up-with-you? But-why-aren't-you-wearing-your-uniform? You-always-said-it-was-more-comfortable-than-about-anything-else-and-didn't-rub-your-fur-the-wrong-way. It-certainly-has-to-be-better-than-black-leather-and-spikes." The roadrunner flicked his best buddy's collar as he said the last bit.

Slowly, almost as if against his will, Tech reached out. The uniform was folded so that the inverted green triangle symbol was on top. The coyote touched the symbol then looked up into the emerald green eyes of the roadrunner. It was the same one that he'd broken during their race through Blanc . . . that race seemed a lifetime ago. Several lifetimes ago, in fact.

"I,-uh,-finished-it-for-you." Rev smiled a little awkwardly. "In-case-you-ever-came-back,-which-you-did! And-boy,-let-me-tell-you-I-never . . .."

Tech touched his finger to the tip of Rev's beak, but didn't clamp it shut. Keeping only half an ear tuned to Rev rambling, the coyote lightly traced the green symbol. It felt right. Rev did a good job on repairing it. Leaving the uniform in the roadrunner's hands, Tech turned slightly away. The Loonatics clustered around him welcoming their genius teammate back. Slam gathered them all up into another group hug.

His friends' welcoming hug undid Tech. Their open acceptance destroyed the anger and resentment that had lodged within his breast. It was real. Their friendship and love were real. He knew it. He could feel it. Their friendship for him had somehow survived all the doubt and suspicion of rumors and betrayals. A small groan pressed from the coyote's heart. But had his for them? He feared that he lost something along the way. Something had broken inside him since his arrest and imprisonment. Something that even his remarkable regenerative powers could not heal. And it still hurt . . . deep.

"Tech, what is it?" Lexi cocked a slender pink ear, but it wasn't something that she actually heard. It had more to do with Tech's demeanor. Come to think of it, she hadn't seen a true smile on the genius since being reunited with the team. The bunny laid a hand on the coyote's cheek, but before she could get any sort of answer from her friend the alert went off, signaling a disaster in the Clampett Galaxy.

Ace took the report. Though severe, the emergency would be a piece of cake to handle . . . especially now that the team was all together again. "Okay Loonatics, let's jet!"

As the Loonatics raced for the hanger bay, Slam stopped by the door and looked back. "Ppptttt ppptttt, kkrrn, let's go."

Tech shook his head. "I'm not coming, Slam."

Shock froze the Loonatics in their tracks. Ace walked back to Tech and placed his hands on the genius' shoulders. The yellow tinted bunny felt horrible. He was the one who betrayed Tech. He was the one who should have been sent to prison, not the coyote. Ace wished Tech would just deck him one and get it over with. The physical pain of a broken nose would be less than the anguish in his heart and the burning shame in his mind.

But Tech didn't strike. He just turned his head away, refusing to even look at the bunny.

"Tech, I'm sorry. I never wanted ta turn ya over ta da enforcers. I never wanted ta believe dat you were a traitor. But da planetary leaders issued a warrant and dey said da evidence was conclusive. And I know we should 'a never turned our backs on ya, but we had ta distance ourselves or we could a' never done our jobs. An' we did try ta get back an' write letters an' everything. An' . . . an' I know dat all da reasons in da universe only sound like so many lame excuses . . . an' I am sorry, Tech. Come back. Please."

"I . . .." His mind knew it, but Tech's feelings were having a hard time catching up. The genius understood why his teammates abandoned him, and he forgave them. After all, it was only logical. They did what they had to. But he couldn't rejoin the team. In his mind, he understood the words, but his heart didn't. Maybe his heart would catch up in time. Well, he could say the words. And he was surprised at how hard it was to say, "I understand. But I can't stay."

"No-way-am-I-accepting-something-like-this! You're-back-and-you're-staying-back,-little-brother!" In a flash, Rev was across the room and yelling in Tech's face. "Why-can't-you-stay,-Tech? And-just-where-do-you think-you'll-go?"

"I lost something along the way. Something that I need to find." Tech answered enigmatically. He could tell by the look on Rev's face that the roadrunner didn't understand. Maybe he didn't fully understand himself. As much as his wounded soul urged him to believe otherwise, the green tinted coyote knew that it practically killed his friends and teammates to turn him over to the enforcers and leave him.

Rev cocked his head trying to gain a different perspective on what his friend-brother was trying to say. Not understanding, but deciding that he didn't have to, Rev came to a decision. "Okay-then,-Tech. I'm-leaving-too-and-I'm-going-with-you. And-together-we're-gonna-find-whatever-it-is-that-you-lost."

"But I might not ever find it," Tech warned.

Rev was not to be dissuaded. "So?-we'll-go-together-and-we'll-come-back-together-if-at-all. But-we-will-be-together."

Slam added his garbled consent and Danger quacked over to the two of them. "Well, come on. Finding is for the seekers. Let's get seeking so we can get back to hero-ing."

What could he do? His team was disintegrating before his eyes. Ace glanced up at Lexi who looked torn. The she bunny slowly walked over to Tech as well. It was telling that the others, especially the self-promoting Danger Duck, would put off their guardianship until Tech could come back with them. But Ace had to admit; Tech's distress was more severe than the one coming in from the Clampett galaxy. A cocky grin lit the Loonatic leader's face. "Alrighty den. Tech, where do we start looking?"

Ace shrugged at his team's shocked expressions. What else could he do but join in? "Da cosmos survived before da Loonatics went universal; it'll survive until we come back . . . ALL of us come back."

The selfless action reaffirmed the coyote's faith and friendship with the Loonatics . . . his surrogate family. Tech discovered that what he feared was broken and lost was really just locked away and his friends' determination to come with him opened his heart. The perpetual green glow around him and in his eyes extinguished as Tech finally 'came home.'

Tech picked up his Loonatic uniform from where it had fallen during the team hug. He removed the green inverted triangle symbol and attached it to his T-shirt. "Well, chief, what are we waiting for? We have a galaxy to save."

"Good to have you back, Tech." Ace grinned. This was the first time that Tech called him chief since before his arrest. A weight lifted at that simple word. 'Chief.' Ace grabbed Tech in a brief hug and thumped him on the back. "All righty team, let's jet!"

The Loonatics again raced for the docking bay to answer the distress call coming from the Clampett galaxy. When Tech arrived at the doorway before Rev, he stopped and stepped in front of the normally speedy roadrunner. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah,-I'm-okay. Why-shouldn't-I-be-okay? You're-back-and-staying-and-you're-a-Loonatic-again-so-everything-is-okay." Rev said in a rush. "If-anything-I-should-ask-you-if-you-are-okay. But-you-do-look-tons-better-so-you-are-at-least-more-okay-than-you-were-before-so-we're-both-okay. Okay?"

"Uh huh. This must be some new definition of the word 'okay' of which I was previously unaware." Tech crossed his arms across his chest, barring the runner's path. "Now Rev, what's wrong?"

"Well, . . . -when-I-thought-you-betrayed-us-I-was-so-hurt-and-angry-and-I-rigged-the-base-against-you-in-case-you-escaped. I-even-tried-to-make-a-special-'Tech-cage.' I-thought-that-if-you-did-escape-and-if-I-could-catch-you-then-I-could-reform-you-and-turn-you-good-again. But-of-course-you-never-were-evil. And-I-should-have-trusted-you-no-matter-what,-even-when-I-searched-and-searched-and-found-no-evidence-that-you-were-innocent." Rev hung his head in shame and stared at the floor. "I'm-sorry,-Tech,-I-should-never-have-doubted-you."

Tech snorted. "You dumb bird. Don't be an idiot."

Rev flinched a bit at the harshness of Tech's retort, but was too shocked at the name calling to be angry about it. Then the red hued roadrunner shrugged it off. There was bound to be some unpleasant fallout from the coyote's incarceration.

"It IS important to be trusted, . . . but," Tech paused. It meant a lot to be trusted no matter what, but it meant even more that Rev would go to all that trouble just to save him. The coyote gripped Rev's beak and forced the roadrunner to look him in the eye. "BUT, you never abandoned me even when you thought I was evil. You proved that your friendship goes beyond good, beyond evil, beyond belief system or anyone's approval. I KNOW that your friendship, your . . . your love, goes beyond anything that I can do and that you will never abandon me or give up on me. No - - matter - - what."

Truly happy for the first time since they raced through the interior of Blanc, Rev leaped on his friend-brother as if they had just won the Basher Ball championship. Tech laughed and returned his friend-brother's enthusiasm.

"Hey, are you guys coming or what?" Danger quacked in to see what was holding up the gadgeteer and the inventor. The two broke off their victory hug. The orange and black clad mallard smirked as Rev, with Tech in tow, raced to the hanger bay. He wasn't worried about being the last to arrive. Even at his speediest, the roadrunner wasn't faster than a quack!

Orange Triangle.

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Th-th-th-th-th-That's all Folks!

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Except for the epilogue:


	19. Epilogue

Loonatics Unleashed:

"Silent Conspiracy"

(This story is post Season Two – after the cartoon series.)

Rated T for Intrigue.

Disclaimer: Loonatics Unleashed, Duck Dodgers in the 24th and ½ Century, Looney Tunes, and all related Characters and Elements are trademarks of Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Other references, lyrics and quotes belong to their individual artists, authors, copyrights, or trademarks.

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Epilogue.

Pink Triangle.

CRASH!!!

Lexi rolled over in her hammock and groaned. "Not again." Then, even though the disturbance wasn't repeated, the doe bunny pushed aside her unworthy sentiment and got up. Not wanting to deal with the troubled genius's night-terror on her own, Lexi padded out of her bedroom in her pink pajamas and bunny slippers and knocked on Rev's door. "Come on, Rev, you're the one who insists on letting Tech have metal in his room. You can help clean it up when it's trashed."

"Another-nightmare? Tech's-been-doing-so-well-lately;-he-hasn't-been-nightmaring-like-he-was-right-after-his-incarceration. He-must-be-having-a-relapse. Thankfully-they-are-becoming-less-frequent." Wearing his red nightcap and pajamas, and rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Rev joined Lexi. "But-I-had-hoped-he-was-getting-over-it."

"You and me both." Lexi agreed with her speedy teammate.

"You and us all," Ace corrected. Ace in his yellow pajamas and Slam in his nightshirt joined their two teammates. Over the course of the coyote's emotional recovery, the Loonatics got used to seeing each other in their nightwear.

Not that Ace could blame Tech for not being able to sleep. He'd had nightmares himself after seeing the prison surveillance footage of the guards beating the coyote. With the exception of Tech, all of the Loonatics had started watching the uncut footage that Optimatus brought back from the Acmetropolis Intergalactic Prison Ship; but only he had finished it. It was hard to stomach. But as leader and as the one who had executed the coyote's arrest, Ace figured that he owed it to Tech to know the truth. Little wonder that Tech still refused talk about it. In fact, whenever confronted with the proof, Tech would shoot his metal spikes through the footage and rip it apart with his magnetism. At least the mayor of Acmetropolis conducted a thorough investigation and reformation of the penal system.

Despite all, Tech worked fine as a guardian of the universe. If anything, the coyote was more efficient in the field, (slightly) less fanatical with his inventions, and more dedicated to his teammates than before. He repaired and updated the base and all the broken equipment as well as published his papers. Tech never missed a shared meal with everyone or a night out to the movies together. To all intents and purposes the coyote made a full recovery from his imprisonment.

In the light of day, anyway. Nights were another matter. And yet even those had abruptly smoothed out about two weeks ago. No, Tech functioned well as a Loonatic. Almost as he always had . . . almost. There were other fallouts of his incarceration besides the nightmares.

Ace shook his head remembering the Loonatics' latest capture. Slyth Vester had escaped and boosted one of Tweetums' egg-transports to flee the system. Tech's upgrades on the Loonatics' enviro-suits allowed them to apprehend the felon feline with no difficulty. He'd even stopped the treacherous tomcat with his magnetism, but the scientist refused to aid in the actual arrest. Though Tech didn't interfere with his teammates taking the villain into custody, he wouldn't do it himself.

"Ya know, gang, I'm wondering if yesterday's incident with 'Puss in Boots' didn't spark tanight's nightmare." Ace triggered Tech's bedroom door and they stepped inside.

When the door swished open behind him, Danger Duck hastily dropped his hands from rubbing Tech's ears to calm the genius down to his shoulders. Seeing their teammates, the mallard put on his tough-guy act, which was just a little hard to do in his orange feet-y pajamas. He hated being caught coddling the coyote. Danger might have a tough love, but it was real. The mallard shook his head. He often found Tech on the floor like this. The coyote had no bed in prison. "Come on, you big baby, wakeup."

The faintly glowing green coyote crouched in the center of the floor, knees drawn up to his chest much as his distant ancestor, Wile E. Coyote was wont to do when contemplating a new scheme to capture the roadrunner. Tech, however, wasn't pondering a new invention. His arms were wrapped so tightly around his knees that they trembled and his eyes were squinched shut, blocking out the intrusion of reality. Tormented by emotional memories, Tech didn't respond to his teammates; he only whimpered slightly between mumbled words of denial. "'Voices, far away like from a different world . . . only right next to you.'"

Rev crouched down beside the coyote, calling his name and placing his hand beside Danger's on his friend-brother's shoulder, but the genius only pulled tighter into himself. Tech wasn't in his pajamas; he was still in his Loonatic uniform, though it sported the additions of the coyote's fingerless sports gloves and spikes. The roadrunner suspected that the inventor had been working late into the night when exhaustion overtook him. It was a habit that Tech had rekindled of late to avoid the phantoms of his sleep.

The roadster looked around the room. Metal spikes and twisted links of chain were embedded in the ceiling and walls. An entire metal shelf and all its contents was smashed on the floor. Rev hated it when Tech got like this. You never knew when the coyote would lash out in his sleep and you'd have to duck for cover to avoid getting hit by the shrapnel. Even so, the speedster made sure that Tech's room was nothing like his prison cell where nothing metal was allowed.

Slam spun out of the room, but was back in a whirlwind moments later with an armload of beanbag chairs from the living room. The Tasmanian devil grunted when he noticed that Danger's big fluffy orange pillow was already there on the floor. Stepping over scattered tools, gadgets, and even a letter-gram from Black Velvet that came three days ago, as well as the broken shelf that had awakened Lexi in the first place, the rest of the Loonatics settled in until Tech either fell back asleep or woke up completely. They lent the coyote the only support they could . . . that of their presence.

Tech heard his friends' voices. Clinging desperately to the lingering remnants of the dream that he despised, the genius feared what he'd face if he truly awoke. Finally, feeling multiple sets of arms around him, the coyote uncurled and tentatively ventured to open his eyes. The pupils of Tech's eyes smoldered green again. In prison, he hated sleep when he dreamed of the past. It made the waking that much more painful. Only this time he really was surrounded by his friends.

Tech shuddered as taunts of false hope resolved into his teammates. Drawing a ragged breath, the coyote clung to his rout . . . his family. In his waking mind, Tech knew. In his nightmares, the horror still lived. Feeling his friend-brother trembling, Rev tightened his hold.

"Did you have another nightmare?" Lexi asked gently.

Tech shook his head, no. "I dreamed of when we were still on Acmetropolis. We were all at the beach just playing in the waves. There was a light, warm breeze, and you could even see an outline of the sun through the sullen purple skies."

Lexi smiled. It sounded wonderful! She still kept her surfboard, water skies, and sand bucket with hand trowel in her room, though there were no big seas on Blanc. That was precisely the type of dream that she went to sleep for. Then the bunny's brows furrowed. If Tech was having such pleasant dreams, why was his room a shambles? The doe bunny looked to her friends, but they were as confused as she.

"Oooo, bad one!" Danger said sympathetically. In prison with no chance of parole, the worst nightmares had to be pleasant dreams of home. The mallard affected a shudder. "Imagine thinking you're on a nice outing with your friends and then waking up to Mastermind's bloated head. Eeewww!"

Ace's ice blue eyes darted from Danger Duck to Tech, then to the oversize orange pillow on the floor. No, Tech's recovery wasn't as abrupt as they had thought. And tonight's isolated incident wasn't just a relapse . . . nor was it isolated. Danger had been getting up the with coyote all these nights while the rest of them slept. The knucklehead! the mallard should have told them. "We're here for ya, Tech. All of us."


End file.
